EU bank provides 250 million euro to finance SMEs in Egypt

BRUSSELS, Dec 11 (KUNA) -- The European Investment Bank (EIB) announced Monday a financing agreement of 250 million euro (USD 294 million) with Banque Misr (Egypt Bank) to finance investments by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Egypt.
The financing agreement is expected to sustain thousands of jobs in Egyptian enterprises, said the Luxembourg-based EIB in a press release.
The EIB's loan is the first tranche of 500 million euro (USD 589 million) to Egypt approved by the European Investment Bank's Board of Directors. It will support Banque Misr's plans to expand SME financing to meet the considerable growth expectations for SME lending in the coming years. Since 2009 the EIB said it has provided financing to 246 SME projects in Egypt for a total value of 743 million euro (USD 876 million), most of which (56 percent) were in manufacturing sector. These projects helped to sustain over 40.000 jobs at private businesses.
The EIB is the only bank owned by and representing the interests of the EU member states. It works closely with other EU institutions to implement EU policy. (end) nk.mb