Long-awaited IMF tranche to arrive next week: Garhy

CAIRO – 11 July 2017: Egypt will receive the $ 1.25 billion payment in second tranche of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) next week, Minister of Finance Amr El Garhy said Monday.

The second tranche should have reached state coffers in June, but was delayed due to bank procedures at the IMF, Garhy said in an interview with Hona Al Asema talk show on CBC satellite channel.

In May, the IMF reached a staff-level agreement with Egypt to provide Cairo with the second $1.25 billion tranche of its three-year $12 billion loan, approved in 2016.

The IMF loan has been in the works for years, and was seen as a vital lifeline for Egypt in recovering investor confidence.

As part of the agreement, Egypt had to agree to a series of economic reforms and austerity measures to combat inflation and the deteriorating economic conditions in the country.