HSBC Egypt agreed to be the financial consultant to secure a $500 million loan to finance the imports of the market’s demands of diesel, benzene and mazut, in addition to paying a part of arrears to international oil companies (IOCs), sources told Al Mal News.

The bank will cooperate with HSBC UAE to market and collect the fund from banks working in the Gulf, the source said, adding that the loan will arrange EGPC’s owned crude oil cargoes as guarantees. The loan tenor will be for five years.

Since the floatation of the Egyptian pound in November 2016, EGPC is depending on international banks and its branches in Egypt to secure most of its financial needs from external markets in order to avoid pressuring the local exchange market.