The National Bank of Egypt (NBE) is negotiating with four international institutions over getting finances worth EGP 750 million to be injected into small and medium enterprises (SMEs), banking sources told Amwal Al Ghad. The negotiations are in preliminary stages as a contract is expected to be signed next August, sources added, but declined to tell the names of these institutions before final agreement. NBE received about EGP 3 billion worth of finances from 12 financial institutions such as African Development Bank, a soft loan from Italy, French Development Agency, a line of credit offered from Spain's Institute De credit official, Social Fund for Development, Industrial Pollution Control Project and Environmental Commitment Accord. The value of finances offered by NBE to SMEs reached EGP 3.3 billion and the total value of finance contracts signed with the Social Fund for Development registered EGP 5 billion at the end of FY 2011/2012, sources added.
