Cairo – Mubasher: Egypt’s domestic public debt rose by 18.8% year-on-year at the end of March, according to data released by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).

The North African nation’s local debt amounted to EGP 4.204 trillion at the end of last March, representing 79% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), compared to EGP 3.538 trillion at the end of the same month a year earlier.

Domestic debt owed by the government surged by EGP 508.8 billion to EGP 3.6 trillion at the end of the first quarter of 2019.

Meanwhile, debt of economic authorities fell by EGP 10 billion to EGP 307.6 billion, while net debt of the National Investment Bank (NIB) rose by EGP 9.7 billion to EGP 266.7 billion.

During the first quarter of 2019, Egypt’s external debt grew by 20.4% year-on-year to $106.2 billion from $88.16 billion, the World Bank previously revealed.