NIB settles 90% of government obligations worth EGP 298.8B

Egypt’s National Investment Bank (NIB) has completed about 90% of its long-standing financial settlements with government entities, covering EGP 298.8 billion, the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development said.

The announcement came as the bank’s board approved a restructuring plan to strengthen its financial position and restore its investment and development role.

Minister of Planning Ahmed Rostom, who chairs NIB, led the board meeting, attended by Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Hussein Eissa and Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Mohamed Farid Saleh.

The settlements involve the General Authority for Reconstruction Projects and Agricultural Development (GARPAD), the National Media Authority (Maspero), subsidiaries of the Holding Company for Water and Wastewater (HCWW), the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA), the Egyptian Agricultural Authority and the New Valley Governorate. Some of the obligations had remained unresolved for decades.

Rostom credited Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly’s support and cooperation among the relevant ministries and agencies for the progress. He said resolving the obligations would help correct the bank’s financial position and enable it to support the state’s development plans.

The board also reviewed how NIB could generate returns from real estate and investment assets acquired through the settlements. It discussed a potential role for the bank as a strategic partner in the proposed infrastructure finance guarantee facility (IFGF), being developed with the World Bank Group and other international institutions to support infrastructure investment.

Eissa called for the bank to build on the restructuring work completed over the past six months by improving its operations and financing capacity. Farid, who joined the meeting by video conference, said finalizing the settlements would help NIB advance its projects and investment portfolio.