Authority Signs LE10b Loan to Repay Foreign Companies

Five banks granted the Petroleum Authority the biggest loan in the history of the Egyptian banking system worth LE10 billion to repay its debts to foreign companies and meet consumer needs.

The Petroleum Authority had announced earlier that the alliance, led by the National Bank of Egypt, is financing the biggest loan it has received since 25 January 2011.

The authority is racing to get a loan in Egyptian pounds or US dollars in order to pay some US$6 billion in debts to foreign oil companies.

The National Bank of Egypt is granting LE4 billion, the Commercial International Bank 1.65 billion, the Arab African International Bank LE1.65 billion, Banque Misr LE1.35 billion and Qatar National Bank (previously Societe Generale) LE1.35 billion.

Sources said such a loan takes one month to 45 days to complete, adding that the Petroleum Authority did not say if it would deposit the money directly in the accounts of those companies.

The chairmen of the alliance are signing the loan agreement with the Petroleum Authority on Wednesday to deposit the loan in its account.

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