EXCLUSIVE- The government has received upward of 100 requests from exporters looking to settle around EGP 900 mn-worth of overdue subsidies, a government official told Enterprise. Authorities have already finished calculating overdue payments for 40 companies, including Toshiba and Zanussi, and is ready to disburse their dues. Under an agreement reached with exporters in May, those companies will be able to write off the overdue amounts against their taxes as an alternative to cash payments. They would also be allowed to apply for industrial land at a discount through the government’s new online land allocation portal.

Background: The government started implementing a new EGP 6 bn new export subsidy framework last week, and said it is taking more steps to settle overdue payments promised by the Export Subsidy Fund since 2012. According to a statement issued then, around 1,000 small companies and exporters are set to receive their dues “immediately,” while larger corporations will be encouraged to commit to new investments to speed up their payments. The first settlement agreement after this promise was signed last weekend with Sumitomo Tires. Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said the ministry has already disbursed some EGP 1.4 bn, according to local press reports. Businesses had earlier claimed that no contracts have been signed.