Data Extraction

(i) No amount/estimate: Short-term loans of up to a year were made available to allow small projects harmed by COVID-19 (especially in industrial and labor-intensive sectors) to pay for their operational expenses until the crisis is over; (ii) As of end December 2020, this initiative was extended, and with a focus on a tourism lending initiative as well as a retail loan initiative for workers in the tourism sector until end of 2021.

No amount/estimate: (i) 20 March 2020, The central bank has reduced the policy rate by 300 bps to 9.25%; (ii) 24 March 2020, preferential interest rate on loans to tourism has been reduced from 10% to 5%, for SMEs. As of 24 June 2020, this measure has already been reversed; (iii) 24 March 2020, preferential interest rate on loans to industry and housing for low-income and middle-class families has been reduced from 10% to 8%. As of 24 June 2020, the new rate now applies to tourism, industry, agriculture and construction sectors as well; (iv) 25 September 2020, The Egyptian Central Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) reduced its overnight rates by 50bps each, with the lending rate down to 9.75% and the deposit rate down to 8.75%; (v) 12 November 2020, These rates were again reduced by 50bps each, with the overnight lending rate now down to 9.25% and the overnight deposit rate down to 8.25%.

(i) Regulations issued last year requiring banks to obtain detailed information of borrowers have been relaxed; (ii) Suspension of credit score blacklists for irregular clients and waiver of court cases for defaulted customers have been announced; (iii) 12 January 2021, Egypt's central bank bans banks from paying dividends to shareholders to protect capital amid the COVID-19 crisis.

(i) EGP3 billion of loan guarantees by the government has been announced for the tourism industry soft loans; (ii) EGP100 billion of loan guarantees from the Central Bank to cover lending at preferential rates to the manufacturing, agriculture and contracting industries; (iii) 16 June 2020, EGP3 billion in loan guarantees to the Tourism sector; (iv) As of 30 July 2020, an EGP2 billion guarantee fund has been formed to guarantee mortgages and consumer loans.

(i) No amount/estimate: Loans with a two-year grace period will be made available to aviation sector firms; (ii) No amount/estimate: Central Bank introduced credit lines that can be paid over a maximum of two years with a six-month grace period, specifically for tourism enterprises to facilitate paying of salaries and financial dues for suppliers; (iii) 18 June 2020, EGP100 billion in funding accessible to all SMEs in the industrial, agricultural, and contracting sectors; (iv) 23 July 2020, A new consumer spending initiative has been announced by the government, as part of which, two-year low-interest installments will be made available to encourage spending. This is meant to complement the initiative on the same date in Measure 5B. As of 30 July 2020, this was announced to equal EGP10 billion; (v) 30 July 2020, A housing initiative has been announced to provide low cost financing for housing units. Further, a new lending initiative with soft loans at zero-to-low interest rates from banks is aimed at replacing old cars with natural gas-powered vehicles; (vi) 4 January 2020, Egypt has granted EgyptAir Holding Co. a loan of EGP2 billion to help the national flag carrier ride the devastating financial impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on the sector. The interest subsidy provided by the government is reflected in Measure 5B4.

No amount/estimate: (i) 24 March 2020, The government also introduced a six-month extension for credit repayments targeting all individuals and businesses, as well as the waiving of late fines for such repayments; (ii) 27 March 2020, Mortgage financing companies, factoring and leasing companies mandated to give a six-month grace period to any client who asks; (iii) New debt relief initiative for individuals at risk of default has also been announced, that will waive marginal interest on debt under EGP1 million if customers make a 50% payment; (iv) Microlenders have been instructed to also consider delays on a case-by-case basis, of up to 50% of the value of monthly installments for struggling clients.

EGP20 billion stock-purchase program has been launched by the Central Bank.

(i) 22 March 2020, EGP8 billion has been allocated to support the healthcare sector, targeted at providing urgent and necessary medical supplies, and disbursing bonuses for medical staff working in quarantine hospitals and labs; (ii) 22 March 2020, To support medical professionals, including doctors working in university hospitals, a 75% allowance over the wages has been announced; (iii) 24 March 2020, EGP1 billion (USD63.5 million) additional funding was announced, specifically for health services and various measures to increase the country’s capacity to absorb the sudden increase of critical patients that the outbreak might bring; (iv) 2 April 2020, additional USD7.9 million designated for emergency response activities related to the COVID-19 outbreak; (v) 19 October 2020, The Egyptian Doctors Syndicate announced that it has disbursed EGP71 million to support almost 3,600 doctors who have been infected by the coronavirus since February. The syndicate added that it also disbursed EGP5 million to support the families of the doctors who died of COVID-19.

(i) No amount/estimate: The moratorium on the tax law on agricultural land has been extended for 2 years; (ii) No amount/estimate: Capital gains tax has been postponed until further notice; (iii) No amount/estimate: Three months extension for the payment of property taxes for companies in the industrial and tourism sector; (iv) No amount/estimate: Extension of the individuals’ annual tax return filing deadline to 16 April instead of 31 March, and exemption of the tax returns online filing subscription fee for the use of the Egyptian Tax Authority online filing portal; (v) No amount/estimate: A Corona tax of 1% on all public and private sector salaries and 0.5% on state pensions have been imposed, the proceeds of which are earmarked for sectors and SMEs most affected by the pandemic;

(i) No amount/estimate: The stamp duty on transactions and tax on dividends have been reduced; (ii) 17 June 2020, EGP5.3 billion in exemptions to natural gas consumers from penalty fine for late payments; (iii) No amount/estimate: 21 June 2020, Extended until 15 September 2020, the exemption from all fees & commissions for local transfers in EGP. On 15 September 2020, this was again extended until 21 December 2020; (iv) 18 September 2020, Reduction in customs duties by rates exceeding 50% of their current levels on some components of the furniture, petrochemical and durable electrical appliances industries such as refrigerators and televisions, as well as for mass transit vehicles and vehicle supply stations with electric and gas power.

(i) No amount/estimate: 22 March 2020, Pension benefits have been increased by 14%; (ii) No amount/estimate: 22 March 2020, Expansion of the targeted cash transfer social programs, Takaful and Karama, are also being extended to reach more families; (iii) No amount/estimate: 22 March 2020, A targeted support initiative for irregular workers in most severely hit sectors has been announced, which will entail EGP500 in monthly grants for 3 months; (iv) EGP50 million allocated by the Ministry of Workforce for irregular workers, including women, who lost their job due to the coronavirus; (v) No amount/estimate: 23 July 2020, the new consumer spending initiative will also include discounts on selected consumer goods, the details of which are yet to be announced; Bonus for workers in the petroleum sector worth 12% of the basic wage for a worker on 30 June 2020, with a minimum of EGP75 added to the basic wage. Bonus for workers in the workers in "the shareholding corporate sector" side of the petroleum industry get a bonus worth 12% of their basic wages with a minimum of EGP75 and a maximum of EGP300; (vi) EGP500 support total for tour guides. Disbursement begins with an EGP100 disbursement on 8 September 2020; (vii) 10 October 2020, EGP2.3 billion in support to state employees through salary hikes between EGP50 and EGP55; (viii) 27 October 2020, EGP1 billion to support equal educational opportunities for students. This includes support for one million school students from families who have been rejected from the Takaful program, bringing the total number of students who are supported to 4.4 million students, of whom 2.4 million students are supported through the Takaful program and 2 million students are rejected from the program.

(i) EGP1 billion in arrears will be paid out to exporters; (ii) No amount/estimate: 22 March 2020, Energy costs have been lowered for the entire industrial sector; (iii) No amount/estimate: 22 March 2020, Real estate tax relief has been provided for industrial and tourism sectors, (iv) No amount/estimate: 22 March 2020, Subsidy pay-out for exporters has been stepped up, and discount on fuel price has been announced for the aviation sector; (v) 22 March 2020, EGP50 billion of the EGP91 billion stimulus has been announced for the tourism sector, which contributes close to 12% of Egypt’s GDP, 10% of employment, and almost 4% of GDP in terms of receipts, as of 2019; (vi) EGP1 billion in arrears will be paid out by The Export Subsidy Fund in March and April 2020, plus 10% in cash payments to exporters in June 2020; (vii) No amount/estimate: 4 January 2020, Government will bear the financing for the loan on the same date in Measure 3A until the airline can report to 80% of its pre-COVID capacity.

Multiple packages have been announced by the government to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19, totalling about EGP91 billion for nonhealth measures, EGP41 billion of which have no breakdown. This is part of the EGP102.18 billion (1.8% of GDP) announced on 22 March 2020 as the total of stimulus policies to be enacted by the government to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19.

Measure 5C covers the remaining measure amount from the EGP102.18 billion with no breakdown.

(i) 2 April 2020, USD7.9 million funds from the World Bank through activating the Contingency Emergency Response Component (CERC) under the “Transforming Egypt’s Healthcare System Project”, designated for emergency response activities related to the COVID-19 outbreak in Egypt. This measure is reflected in 5A; (ii) 11 May 2020, USD2.772 billion in emergency support from the International Monetary Fund to address the COVID-19 Pandemic. As of 1 October 2020, the agreement was ratified by the President of Egypt; (iii) 17 May 2020, USD50 million in World Bank aid for Egypt as an emergency response under the new Fast Track COVID-19 Facility; (iv) 27 May 2020, USD0.5 million emergency assistance grant from the African Development Bank Group to Egypt to provide food relief, and to contribute to restoring the livelihood of vulnerable populations severely affected by the pandemic; (v) 5 June 2020, USD5.2 billion Stand-By Arrangement were agreed upon by Egyptian Authorities and the International Monetary Fund, aiming to alleviate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, helping maintain macroeconomic stability, strengthen the social safety net, and support reforms to spur private-sector-led growth and job creation. On 26 June 2020, this was approved by IMF's Executive Board; (vi) 16 June 2020, USD400 million provided by the World Bank as support for the Universal Health Insurance System, to protect the most vulnerable from high health expenses due to the pandemic; (vii) 17 June 2020, the African Development Bank Group approved a EUR225 million loan to finance Egypt’s Electricity and Green Growth Support Program (EGGSP). The funding will help meet the Government of Egypt’s financing requirements in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and support a sound electricity infrastructure base; (viii) 29 July 2020, the Arab Monetary Fund extended a USD639 million credit facility to help the country reform its public finance sector amid the COVID-19 pandemic; (ix) 25 August 2020, USD2.73 million grant from the Government of Japan and UNDP to address the Socio-Economic Impact of COVID-19 in Egypt through human security approach; (x) 3 September 2020, the Finance Ministry announced that Egype signed a USD2 billion conventional and islamic loan with several international and regional banks. This is meant to close the gap in its 2020/2021 budget wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic; (xi) Egypt’s National Bank of Egypt (NBE) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have signed an agreement worth EUR1.9 billion, where EUR1.1 billion will be provided for the transport sector and EUR800 million for SMEs; (xii) 21 October 2020, USD9.5 million grant from Japan to support the health sector against coronavirus; (xiii) 5 November 2020, USD112.5 million worth of agreements between the US and Egypt amid the pandemic, in various sectors such as health, higher education, and scientific research; (xiv) 12 December 2020, USD96 million support from the EU in two tranches to combat the coronavirus pandemic; (xv) 14 December 2020, the United Kingdom is committing USD1,238,102 through the World Health Organization to strengthen Egypt’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and allow the WHO to provide essential medical supplies and e-training to staff, among others; (xvi) 15 December 2020, South Korea delivers medical supplies worth USD0.5 million to support Egypt's anti-COVID response activities; (xvii) 31 December 2020, the European Investment Bank is providing Banque Misr with a EUR425 million credit line to support Egyptian private small and medium-sized enterprises that have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, and boost their ability to lead the economic recovery in the country.

No amount/estimate: (i) 20 March 2020, The limit for electronic payments via mobile phones has been raised to EGP30,000/day and EGP100,000/month for individuals, and to EGP40,000/day and EGP200,000/per week for corporations; (ii) 29 March 2020, The central bank set a daily limit on all ATM disbursement per card to be EGP5,000, and limits to cash withdrawal and deposits at a bank branch to be EGP10,000 per individual, and EGP50,000 per corporate; (iii) The cost of transactions in the EGX will be reduced from 0.15% to 0.125% and from 0.15% to 0.05% for non-residents and Egyptian residents, respectively, and all spot transactions on EGX will be exempt from stamp duty; (iv) The National Bank of Egypt and Bank Misr announced a one-year deposit program with a 15% interest rate; (v) 6 August 2020, Allowed banks to own unlimited shares in payment service providers and payment systems operators; (vi) 4 October 2020, The Financial Regulatory Authority reduced the fees for examination and study services owed to the authority by 50% for medium and small companies when they apply for the Authority’s approval when taking steps related to the Egyptian stock exchange (such as preparations for an IPO). The change was aimed at incentivizing SMEs to go to the stock exchange for funding; (vii) 20 October 2020, USD750 million in green bonds (first in Middle East and Africa) to finance expenditures related to green projects addressing the impacts of COVID-19 while also taking into account environmental standards.

(i) Temporarily halting all air travel; (ii) Starting July 2020, there will be a gradual re-opening of the economy – air travel will resume and public transportation will operate between 4 am and midnight; (iii) As of December 2020, International flights have resumed, and tourists are arriving in small numbers.

(i) Encouraging civil servants to work from home in non-essential sectors, and closing all malls, gyms, sporting clubs, in-dining restaurants and cafes; (ii) Starting July 2020, there will be a gradual re-opening of the economy – restaurants and cafes will open with 25 percent capacity, stores will close at 9 pm while restaurants and cafes will close at 10 pm, public parks and beaches will remain closed until further notice, places of worship will be open for daily prayers but main prayers like Friday prayers and masses will not be allowed, cinemas, theaters, and entertainment venues will operate with 25 percent capacity.

(i) 28 April 2020, A Presidential decree published in the Official Gazette declared the state of emergency across the country for three months; (ii) The authorities have taken a host of precautionary measures to improve testing as well as to limit the community spread of the virus, including (a) setting up testing centers, (b) imposing a nighttime curfew, (c) temporarily closing places of worship; (iii) Authorities have also suspended the export of all types of legumes for a period of 3 months and plan to start increasing strategic food reserves to meet domestic demand; (iv) All parks and specialized gardens around Cairo will open to the public starting on 26 August 2020, with a maximum capacity of 50%. Starting 21 September 2020, funeral prayers and wedding ceremonies held in open-air venues have been allowed, for a maximum limit of 300 people; (v) Egypt’s Health Ministry released a 3-stage plan outlining required procedures in preparation for the gradual easing of restrictions within the country; (vi) 25 January 2021, Egypt started its COVID-19 vaccination plan [update].