Egyptian, Chinese banks sign $700m deal for funding infrastructure projects

Chairman of the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) Hisham Okasha signed Thursday with China Development Bank Chairman Hu Huaibang a 700 million dollars agreement for bankrolling infrastructure projects in Egypt, especially in the fields of electricity, energy, communication, transport and agriculture.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, currently visiting Egypt, attended the inking ceremony along with Central Bank of Egypt Governor Tarek Amer.

The money will be repaid in eight years with a three year grace period.

The deal reflects the international financial associations' confidence in the bank, a statement by the NBE said on Thursday, highlighting the bank's national role in backing economy.

Thanks to good relations with the China Development Bank, the NBE signed a 200 million dollars deal for funding infrastructure projects in 2012 and a 100 million dollars deal in 2015 for bankrolling micro and small sized enterprises.