Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk and Industry Minister Khaled Hashem announced that the Cabinet approved expanding the initiative of financing facilities for priority industrial sectors.

 

The second phase of the initiative will be launched with the addition of new industrial sectors and activities for companies wishing to benefit from the facilities.

 

The initiative aims to finance the purchase of machinery, equipment and production lines for priority industries identified by the Ministry of Industry and the Industrial Development Authority in coordination with the Federation of Egyptian Industries.

 

The initiative seeks to enhance the quality and competitiveness of Egyptian products in line with the latest global standards, contributing to the localization and deepening of domestic industry and opening new markets for Egyptian exports.

 

A joint statement by the finance and industry ministers indicated the maximum financing limit for a single client under the initiative has been raised to EGP 100 million, up from EGP 75 million. In cases involving related parties, the limit will increase to EGP 150 million instead of EGP 100 million.

 

The credit available to each client under the initiative will be determined based on the size of their business activities and applicable banking regulations.

 

The first phase of the initiative was launched in January 2025 with a ceiling of EGP 30 billion.

 

Priority is given to enterprises located in areas most in need of development and with high employment potential, including southern Giza, governorates within the Suez Canal region—Port Said, Ismailia and Suez east of the canal—as well as border governorates including the Red Sea south of Safaga and Upper Egypt governorates.

 

The joint statement added that performance indicators have been introduced to measure the effectiveness of the initiative and assess its impact on the ground and its contribution to the national economy.

 

These indicators include increased revenues, higher company asset values, growth in production capacity, increases in actual production volumes and product varieties, reduction of the domestic supply gap, higher local value added, integration of products into global value chains, increased employment and job creation, and the localization of new industries.

 

The statement explained that the concessional interest rate afforded by beneficiaries falls below 15% annually as the level of local value added increases, and also applies to newly introduced industries that have not previously been produced locally and are heavily imported.

 

The period of benefiting from the concessional rate under the financing facilities initiative for priority industrial sectors extends for five years from the launch of the initiative.

 

During this period, the Ministry of Finance will cover the difference between the market interest rate and the concessional rate.

 

The statement noted that the initiative covers a wide range of sub-sectors, including pharmaceuticals, engineering industries, food industries, spinning, weaving and ready-made garments, chemical industries, mining industries, building materials and refractories, leather industries and metal industries.