The size of Egypt's external debt is approximately 165 billion US dollars (Al Jazeera)
On Thursday, Moody's credit ratings agency changed its outlook on Egypt from "stable" to "negative."
The agency pointed to the increasing risks represented by the continued weakness of the country's credit position amid the difficulty of rebalancing the macroeconomy and the exchange rate.
Moody's affirmed Egypt's credit rating at "Caa1".
Egypt already suffers from high levels of foreign debt, and has been severely affected by the war in the Gaza Strip that threatens to disrupt tourism bookings and natural gas imports, as well as recent attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
The size of the country's external debt has increased and has reached approximately $165 billion, of which about $29 billion is due in 2024.
The Egyptian loan program from the International Monetary Fund faltered in December 2022 after Cairo refrained from freely floating its currency or making progress in selling state assets.
The Fund postponed the disbursement of about $700 million that was expected in 2023, but it said last December that it was in talks to expand the $3 billion program given the economic risks resulting from Israel’s war on Gaza.
Moody's
Moody's is one of the most important credit rating agencies in the world in terms of its sales and market share, and it is also the oldest institution that has worked in this field.
Moody's has representative offices in 36 countries spread throughout the world.
Moody's business is to evaluate the "creditworthiness" of parties (governments, companies, etc.) seeking financing in the stock markets by issuing bonds.
Moody's expresses this evaluation in a periodic rating that it publishes to guide investors and guide their decisions regarding whether or not to invest in a bond.
This rating indicates the quality of the bond and the degree of credit risk associated with it.
Source: Al Jazeera + agencies