Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) launched a new initiative to support tourism sector on Tuesday, deferring the debts owed by the tourism sector to banks for three years. This initiative includes the establishment of a special unit at CBE in charge of the restructuring of the tourism sector’s debts. The unit is expected to start operating in mid-March. According to CBE’s statement, numerous meetings have been held with tourism officials to discuss their needs over the upcoming period. CBE stated that the initiative would be valid for a year from the launch date, during which any requests for the deferral of bank dues would be accepted for a period of three years at the most. CBE launched a similar initiative to support workers in the tourism sector on 3 December 2015, through which banks were allowed to defer consumer debts. (The Daily News Egypt)