Egypt to borrow to pay debts

CAIRO, August 6, 2014 – On Sunday, Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Sherif Ismail told Reuters that the nation is seeking a $1.5-billion loan to pay part of its $5.9-billion debt to companies that have invested in Egyptian oil and gas.

The repayment will be part of a promise to repay $3 billion in monthly installments by 2017 in an effort to restore investor confidence in the nation that was shaken after payments to private oil and gas producers in Egypt were not completed in the wake of the popular rebellion that deposed President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.

The government recently removed subsidies which increased the retail price of downstream products, and should theoretically provide a revenue boost to the government coffers and increase the ability to pay back oil and gas investors.

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