Base Page Information

Base Page Information
Country		EGYPT
Data category		Balance of Payments

Contact person		Mrs. Saher El Sherbini
Organization		Central Bank of Egypt Economic Research Department
Phone Number		(202) 3937589
Fax Number		(202) 3904232
E-mail		research@cbe.org.eg

Dissemination formats:
Hardcopy			News release
			Weekly	Monthly	quarterly bulletin X
			Other

Electronic	X		On-line country bulletin board or database
			Diskette	CD ROM	Other
Summary Methodology Access to Egypt’s Statistics

The Data: Coverage, Periodicity, and Timeliness

Coverage characteristics

Data are in both Egyptian pound and US dollar. It covers merchandise exports & imports, the services balance on gross basis for the receipts and expenditures side by major category (transportation, travel, investment income, government, and other), private and official transfers on net basis, and the capital and financial account on gross basis broken down into: external indebtedness, foreign direct investment, portfolio investment, and changes in foreign assets & liabilities of banks and non reserve assets and liabilities of the Central Bank of Egypt, and change in reserve assets of the CBE. The statistics are compiled in accordance with the methodology prescribed in the Fifth Edition of the IMF's Balance of Payments Manual.

Periodicity

Quarterly and annually

Timeliness

Three months after the reference quarter.

Access by the Public

Advance dissemination of
release calendar

An advance release calendar giving one-quarter-ahead notice of the approximate release date and then a week-ahead notification of the precise release date is disseminated on the Internet on the IMF's Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board at……..

Simultaneous release to all
interested parties

Data are initially released to the public via the CBE’s website: (http://www.cbe.org.eg). A notice to this effect is published in the CBE's monthly Statistical Bulletin. These data are also disseminated in the said Bulletin, the quarterly Economic Review, and the Annual Report. These documents are available freely by the CBE, either by subscription or distribution.

Integrity

Dissemination of terms and
conditions under which
official statistics are
produced, including ...
confidentiality of individual
responses

The data are collected by the CBE in accordance with the Central Bank and Banking System Law (No. 88, 2003) issued in June 2003 and includes a section that provides confidentiality to both banks and their clients.
The Central Bank and Banking System Law (No. 88, 2003) is available in Arabic, and a copy can be downloaded from the CBE website at: (http://www.cbe.org.eg)

Data are published by the CBE as a public service.

Identification of internal
government access to data
before release

There is no internal government access to data prior to release.

Identification of ministerial
commentary on the occasion of
statistical releases

There is no ministerial commentary on the occasion of statistical releases.

Provision of information
about revision and advance
notice of major changes in
methodology

The balance of payments tables are published with notes specifying the preliminary nature of the figures for the most recent periods. Whenever methodological changes occur, they are announced when the data are disseminated in the Annual Report and the quarterly Economic Review of the CBE. Changes in methodology are also noted at the time of dissemination on the Central Bank of Egypt website: (http://www.cbe.org.eg).

Quality

Dissemination of
documentation on methodology
and sources used in preparing
statistics

The methodology, definition, and sources are spelled out clearly at the dissemination of data. Also brief explanatory notes and definitions are in the CBE's monthly Statistical Bulletin.
(See also summary methodology)

Dissemination of ... that
support statistical cross-
checks and provide assurance
of reasonableness

The CBE's monthly Statistical Bulletin, Annual Report and the quarterly Economic Review
provide multiple tables of the balance of payments.

Summary Methodology Page
Data category		Balance of Payments
National descriptor		CBE - Economic Research Department

Contact person		Mrs. Saher El Sherbini
Organization		Central Bank of Egypt Economic Research Department
Phone Number		(202) 3937589
Fax Number		(202) 3904232
E-mail		Research@cbe.org.eg

I.	Analytical framework, concepts, definitions, and classifications (including reference to applicable guidelines)
	Most of the balance of payments data are compiled according to the Fifth Edition of the IMF’s Balance of Payments Manual .Some of the work on international reserves/investments and valuation is being implemented.
II.	Scope of the data (coverage of, e.g., institutional units, transactions and stock, commodities, industries, and geographic areas)
	None. Data are presented on aggregate or at national level.
III.	Accounting conventions (e.g. time of recording, valuation methods)
	Recording is made on the same day of the transaction in the same currency of that transaction. Aggregate value of transactions of the same currency effected during the month is converted into US$, using the end of month mid-point of buying and selling rates.
IV.	Nature of the basic data (e.g., administrative records, surveys censuses, combinations of these)
	Administrative records.
V.	Compilation practices (e.g., weighting schemes, imputation methods, balancing/cross-checking techniques)
	Compilation of data is on balancing basis. The external debt data, the capital market data on foreigner transaction, and the monetary data support statistical cross-checks.
VI.	Other aspects (e.g., seasonal adjustment, disclosure avoidance, base years, reference years, transformations from fiscal to calendar years)
	Both fiscal and calendar years are available.

The Data: Coverage, Periodicity, and Timeliness
Coverage characteristics	Data are in both Egyptian pound and US dollar. It covers merchandise exports & imports, the services balance on gross basis for the receipts and expenditures side by major category (transportation, travel, investment income, government, and other), private and official transfers on net basis, and the capital and financial account on gross basis broken down into: external indebtedness, foreign direct investment, portfolio investment, and changes in foreign assets & liabilities of banks and non reserve assets and liabilities of the Central Bank of Egypt, and change in reserve assets of the CBE. The statistics are compiled in accordance with the methodology prescribed in the Fifth Edition of the IMF's Balance of Payments Manual.
Periodicity	Quarterly and annually
Timeliness	Three months after the reference quarter.
Access by the Public
Advance dissemination of release calendar	An advance release calendar giving one-quarter-ahead notice of the approximate release date and then a week-ahead notification of the precise release date is disseminated on the Internet on the IMF's Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board at……..
Simultaneous release to all interested parties	Data are initially released to the public via the CBE’s website: (http://www.cbe.org.eg). A notice to this effect is published in the CBE's monthly Statistical Bulletin. These data are also disseminated in the said Bulletin, the quarterly Economic Review, and the Annual Report. These documents are available freely by the CBE, either by subscription or distribution.
Integrity
Dissemination of terms and conditions under which official statistics are produced, including ... confidentiality of individual responses	The data are collected by the CBE in accordance with *the Central Bank and Banking System Law (No. 88, 2003)* issued in June 2003 and includes a section that provides confidentiality to both banks and their clients. *The Central Bank and Banking System Law (No. 88, 2003)* is available in Arabic, and a copy can be downloaded from the CBE website at: (http://www.cbe.org.eg) Data are published by the CBE as a public service.
Identification of internal government access to data before release	There is no internal government access to data prior to release.
Identification of ministerial commentary on the occasion of statistical releases	There is no ministerial commentary on the occasion of statistical releases.
Provision of information about revision and advance notice of major changes in methodology	The balance of payments tables are published with notes specifying the preliminary nature of the figures for the most recent periods. Whenever methodological changes occur, they are announced when the data are disseminated in the Annual Report and the quarterly Economic Review of the CBE. Changes in methodology are also noted at the time of dissemination on the Central Bank of Egypt website: (http://www.cbe.org.eg).
Quality
Dissemination of documentation on methodology and sources used in preparing statistics	The methodology, definition, and sources are spelled out clearly at the dissemination of data. Also brief explanatory notes and definitions are in the CBE's monthly Statistical Bulletin. (See also summary methodology)
Dissemination of ... that support statistical cross- checks and provide assurance of reasonableness	The CBE's monthly Statistical Bulletin, Annual Report and the quarterly Economic Review provide multiple tables of the balance of payments.