Moody’s outlook change for Egypt disregards government’s current efforts: Finance Ministry
Updated 1/19/2024 5:00:00 PM
Arab Finance: The Ministry of Finance stated that Moody’s Investors Service did not take into account the government's current efforts when changing Egypt's outlook to negative, according to a statement.
Moody’s has confirmed Egypt’s sovereign credit rating at Caa1; however, it changed the country’s outlook to negative from stable.
The credit ratings agency also ignored the state’s initial public offering (IPO) program, which enhances the government's ability to meet financing needs over the next two years, attracts more investment flows, and reduces the need for external financing, the ministry pointed out.
The ministry highlighted the state's success in exiting a number of economic activities worth $3.5 billion as part of the IPOs program that helps increase foreign cash flows to cover the needs of the Egyptian economy.
Moreover, the ministry emphasized that the government is managing the overall economy’s risks with flexibility to contain successive external shocks.
The government is also dealing with the negative impacts of the geopolitical tensions affecting economic activity with extreme caution, as per the statement.
Additionally, the ministry indicated the possibility of obtaining around $5 billion annually on favorable terms from multilateral development banks, which reflects these international institutions’ confidence in the economic path pursued by the Egyptian government.
The government has determined sources to fulfill the general budget’s external financing needs with $4 billion until the end of the current fiscal year (FY) 2023/2024, targeting continuous diversification of international markets, the ministry said.
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