Loan
This follows a statement from the IMF's Executive Board, which acknowledged Egypt’s progress in stabilizing its economy despite ongoing external challenges.
The IMF's Executive Board is expected to consider both the fourth review of Egypt’s loan program and the discussions around the RSF in the coming weeks.
The funding, part of the EU’s Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) program, follows the European Commission’s decision in December to release the loan after Egypt met specific policy conditions.
The loan consortium is led by the Commercial International Bank (CIB) and Banque Misr, with the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) serving as the mandated lead arranger.
In a statement released on Saturday, the minister emphasized the significance of the IMF’s approval in support of Egypt’s economic reforms
Meticulously structured per Sharia principles, the trade loan represents a dynamic response to the evolving economic landscape in Africa, the AFC explained
“It is clear that additional financing will be critical to ensure the success in the implementation of the policy package for Egypt,” explained IMF Communications Director Julie Kozack during a press conference
The $131 million loan, named the Private Sector Development and Economic Diversification Support Program, aims to “promote private sector development and economic diversification”
Egypt and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are in the advanced stages of negotiations, with a potential announcement for the $3 billion loan’s reviews coming soon
The EBRD has set the approval date for the loan as 13 December 2023
Citing an official statement, Reuters reported that both the IMF and Egypt agreed to merge the reviews and expect a scheduled date before the end of 2023
This move could potentially provide Egypt with a cost-effective alternative to Russian grain imports. Russia has been supplying an increasing share of Egypt's wheat since last year, but they recently refused a purchase deal below the unofficial minimum price for wheat procurement.
Egypt will not take out new loans unless they are on soft terms and only for pressing developmental needs, the minister said.
The total cost of the factories is LE31 billion, including a €600-million loan that is being used in the purchase of machinery.
The project aims to enhance transportation in Egypt, and in light of the implementation of the urban transport plan in Alexandria Governorate, the project will work to improve the level of line service and provide an effective and comprehensive means of transportation in the governorate.
It is scheduled that the value of the second tranche of the loan will be the same as the value of the first tranche, which is $347 million.
The total value of the Finance Ministry's initiative, approved by the cabinet in January, is LE 150 billion, the largest share of which (LE 140 billion) will be used to finance capital money, and the other LE 10 billion is dedicated to financing the purchase of capital goods.
The first installment of the loan value, which amounts to about $750 million, will be delivered within days.
Egypt hopes to receive 25 percent of the total value of the financial support program that was recently approved by fund experts at an amount of $3 billion.
Egypt announced reform procedures followed by announcing securing financing packages worth $9 billion.
