The investments of UAE’s banks in Egypt totaled AED 47.2 bn at the end of Q3 2018, logging a higher amount than those pumped into Saudi Arabia – which are estimated at AED 40 bn, UAE’s state-run news agency WAM reports.

Banks’ investments in Egypt accounted for 12.5% of the total assets invested outside the UAE, which amounted to about AED 693 bn in September, the Emirati news agency stated on December 31, citing data by the Central Bank of the UAE.

The UAE banking sector is the largest in terms of assets in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, having reached almost AED 2.84 tn by the end of the July-September period.

“Among the top ten countries that invest in UAE banks, three countries saw the highest quarterly increase (end of September): Egypt at AED 12.6 bn, then the Cayman Islands with AED 5.4 bn, and Saudi Arabia with AED 4.9 bn, according to the central bank,” the agency noted.

“One of the largest increases from the beginning of 2018 until the end of September of the same year, came from Egypt of AED 17.7 bin, followed by the Cayman Islands of AED 7.2 bn, and India of AED 5.4 bn,” WAM added.