CAIRO: The Monthly report of the Central Bank showed that the volume of Egypt's foreign debts rose by 2.4 percent at a value of $746 million, where it amounted to $32.2 billion at the end of March this year, compared to the end of June 2009, as a result of the decline in exchange rates of most of the currencies, the report said. With regard to domestic debt, gross domestic debt increased to 863.3 billion Egyptian pounds at the end of March, where the government's worth of debt amounted to 77.3 percent of the total. The net international reserves at the Egyptian Central Bank also increased $3.8 billion at the end of last May to reach $35.1 billion, an increase by 12.1 percent, which covers imports of commodities for a period of up to 8-9 months, “due to the rise in foreign currency equivalent to 2.7 billion dollars.” The monthly report issued last Thursday by the Central Bank stressed that the total investments carried out during the period from July to March of the fiscal year 2009/2010 amounted to 163.3 billion pounds, “an increase of 7.2 percent, as the private sector contributed by 65.3 percent and the government sector 18.3 percent and public companies by 10.7 percent and the economic authorities by 5.7 percent.” The balances of credit facilities granted by banks recorded an increase by 22.9 billion pounds, accounting for the private business sector per 65.4 percent of the total assets of credit facilities to non-government at the end of last April and a report showed an increase in domestic liquidity by 59.2 billion pounds to reach 890.4 billion pounds at the end of April, an increase of 7.1 percent. The increase in domestic liquidity was reflected in the growth of the money supply by 22.4 billion pounds at a rate of 13.2 percent and quasi-money increased by 36.8 billion pounds at a rate 5.7 percent. “The increase in money supply, depending on the increase of money in circulation outside the banking system increased by 12.1 billion pounds at a rate of 10 percent and current deposits in local currency by 10.3 billion pounds, up 15.9 percent,” the Central Bank said. BM
