New Mint Planned for Egypt

The Egyptian Cabinet has approved a proposal to conclude a partnership agreement between the Public Treasury, the Egyptian Mint Authority, and the UK’s Royal Mint to establish a new British-Egyptian mint.

The Cabinet has also agreed to a proposal to mint and issue a 2 pound (LE) coin, a denomination which doesn’t currently exist.

The existing Egyptian Mint was opened in 1953 with the support of the Royal Mint to produce Egypt’s coins. It has also produced coins for Syria, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, along with medals and insignia. It was merged with the Public Treasury Authority in one entity under the Finance Ministry in 2019.

Egypt’s Finance Minister first announced a deepening cooperation with the Royal Mint in coin technology production back in February. According to the Minister, Egypt is seeking to maximise the capabilities of the Egyptian Mint, as one of only two such facilities in Africa and the Middle East, to cover the needs of domestic and regional markets.

The Royal Mint is reported to have presented several options for technical cooperation to develop production and increase capacity. The new facility will be built in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone), a unique strategic location which aims to be the main logistics hub in the region, supported by a number of mega infrastructure projects and financial incentives.

Details of the proposed agreement revealed an investment of LE 2 billion ($100 million), with a capacity of half a billion coins per year, half of which would be exported. According to the Finance Minister, all stages of manufacturing will take place in Egypt using local production inputs instead of importing raw materials, implying that the agreement will covers blanks as well as minting.

In terms of the currency itself, a new polymer 10 pound note was introduced in July, and was the first note to be printed at the Central Bank of Egypt’s new printworks in the New Administrative Capital. A polymer 20 pound note will follow.

The other notes in the series include 1, 5, 50, 100 and 200 Egyptian pounds. There are rumours a new high denomination LE 500 note that will be introduced, and the 5 pound converted to a coin. A 1 pound coin already exists alongside the banknote of the same value. Other coins include 5, 10, 25 and 50 piastres, but only the latter two are currently being produced, along with the LE 1, at a cost of LE 30 million per month.

The issue of a new LE 2 coin is necessary, said the Minister of Finance, for transactions purposes. Its production will take place at the same time as the signing of the final cooperation agreement with the Royal Mint. The partnership forms part of a broader national strategy to support local industries and stimulate economic activity.