The National Bank of Egypt (NBE) and Banque Misr signs a financing contract with City Edge Development, Invest-Gate reports.

The agreement aims at granting long-term financing estimated at EGP 1.1 bn to finance part of the investment costs estimated at EGP 2.2 bn for the establishment of a commercial mall in the company Etapa Square, according to a company press release on March 17.

On his part, Yehia Aboul Fotouh, deputy chairperson of NBE, says that the agreement comes as an extension of the real estate sector projects supported by the bank.

Furthermore, Akef El Maghraby, vice chairman of Banque Misr, confirms that Banque Misr’s participation in this financing is a continuation of its pioneering role in supporting the Egyptian economy, as the real estate sector is one of the most important sectors affecting the Egyptian economy.

Moreover, Mohamed El-Makkawi, CEO of City Edge Real Estate Development notes, “We seek to expand the company’s role as a national real estate developer by developing integrated projects and increasing the portfolio of lands that it owns. We have the vision to transform into a holding company by 2023.”

Likewise, Hassan Nasr, head of the financial sector at City Edge, expresses his happiness with the signing of this agreement, saying, “We aim to enhance the liquidity by this financing to accelerate the construction processes and increase the speed of project delivery.”

“Signing this agreement is the culmination of fruitful cooperation between the company and two of the largest banks which led to the best financing methods for the Etapa Square project in Sheikh Zayed. We look forward to furthering cooperation through other agreements for the company’s projects soon,” he highlights.

Sherif Riad, corporate banking credit & syndicated loans head at the National Bank of Egypt, adds that the financing period reaches nine years, including the withdrawal period of up to 30 months. The total share of the NBE of financing is EGP 550 mn from the total value of the financing granted to the project in partnership with Banque Misr, which amounts to 1.1 bn, and the financing is paid over seven years through 28 quarterly installments.