Cairo – Mubasher: Egypt is expected to sign contracts to hedge against the price volatility of essential commodities within two weeks, a senior government official said.
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has received around 20 offers from global and GCC-based banks specialised in such insurance contracts, the official told Enterprise.
The contracts are set to come into force in fiscal year 2019/2020 in a bid to ensure Egypt’s budget stability and meet the North African country’s budget deficit target.
Earlier this month, a government source told Enterprise that Egypt was looking to sign a number of insurance contracts to hedge against the increasing prices of imported commodities, including oil, wheat, and food, starting from FY19/20.
The hedge scheme will be discussed by the Parliament by the end of March as part of the FY19/20 budget.
In September, finance minister Mohamed Maait announced postponing the hedge plan against fluctuation in oil prices signed with two international banks.
In December, the Egyptian government withdrew from two fuel hedging contracts with two global lenders as crude prices turned lower than expected.
