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Central bank receives $900 million from China under Jan deal

folarin okunola

February 10, 2016 8:38 AM

Egypt, which relies heavily on imports, has been facing a foreign exchange crisis since a popular uprising in 2011 toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak and drove away tourists and investors, both major sources of hard currency.

People and vehicles are seen caught in a traffic jam in front of the Central Bank of Egypt's headquarters in downtown Cairo, Egypt, December 21, 2015. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Egypt's central bank has received $900 million from the China Development Bank under a $1 billion financing agreement signed last month, Central Bank Governor Tarek Amer said in state newspaper al-Ahram.

The $900 million will raise Egypt's dollar reserves to around $17.4 billion, Amer was quoted as saying.

Egypt, which relies heavily on imports, has been facing a foreign exchange crisis since a popular uprising in 2011 toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak and drove away tourists and investors, both major sources of hard currency.

Reserves held at the central bank tumbled to around $16.48 billion in January from around $36 billion before the uprising.

Investment and aid deals worth billions of dollars were signed on Jan. 21 during a visit to Egypt by China's President XI Jinping.

folarin okunola

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