Wednesday 07/January/2026 – 10:14 AM
The Media Observatory of the Egyptian Ministry of Finance refuted what was circulated in a media report on one of the specialized Arab channels, describing it as “unprofessional and misleading,” stressing that the indebtedness of the state’s general budget agencies to the gross domestic product continues to decline significantly during the first half of the current fiscal year (2025/2026) compared to the same period of the previous year.
The Observatory explained that the improvement in the assessment of the Egyptian economy was strongly reflected in international markets, as the price of insurance against non-payment risks (CDS) fell to less than 270 points on January 6, 2026, which is the lowest rate since 2020, and the return on International bonds At rates ranging from 300 to 400 basis points, which reflects the growing confidence of international investors in the sustainability of Egyptian public finances.
The volume of new issuances of domestic debt
The Ministry strongly criticized the methodology of the aforementioned media report, explaining that it relied on “crunching numbers” by mentioning the volume of new issuances of local debt without indicating the volume of amortizations and repayments that took place during the same period, which gives an unrealistic picture and suggests a high debt balance contrary to reality.
The Observatory stressed that the debt balance changes by the value of “net borrowing” and not by the total issuances, stressing that the Ministry of Finance reserves its legal right to take the necessary measures against any content that raises confusion without sound economic foundations or misleads non-specialized observers by ignoring the full picture of financial indicators.
The Media Observatory explained that the financial results for the first half of the current fiscal year revealed a strong economic performance, as public revenues jumped by more than 30%, outperforming the growth rate of expenditures, while tax revenues recorded an exceptional growth of more than 32%.
This performance resulted in achieving a primary surplus approaching 383 billion pounds, which is equivalent to 1.8% of the gross domestic product, compared to 1.3% during the same period last year. These numbers contributed to the stability of the budget deficit at the level of 4.1%, with expectations of a greater improvement in financial performance during the second half of the year, which usually witnesses peak revenues, the supply of profits to government agencies, and the tax filing season starting in March.
The Ministry indicated that these positive results are the result of the diversity in Egyptian economic performance and the strong growth of private investments, in addition to the boom witnessed in commodity and service exports, noting that the general budget is fully capable of achieving the goals of the current fiscal year, in light of close monitoring of debt and adherence to the principles of transparency.
The Ministry called on the media to be accurate and professional when dealing with public finance figures, and to rely on official data that reflects net obligations and payments, to ensure that citizens and international institutions are presented with an honest picture of the state of the Egyptian economy in 2026.
