Egypt expects to receive second tranche of IMF loan in Dec. – finmin

Egypt expects to receive the second tranche of a $5.2 billion financing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in December, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said on Monday.

Last week, IMF announced it had reached a staff-level agreement with Egypt and that upon the approval of its executive board, a $1.6 billion tranche would be disbursed.

“Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the Egyptian economy’s performance has exceeded the IMF’s expectations.” Maait told Sky News Arabia.

In June, the IMF reached a staff-level agreement with Egypt for a one-year, $5.2 billion standby loan to help the North African country grapple with the novel coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout.

The Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) “aims to help Egypt cope with challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic by providing fund resources to meet Egypt’s balance of payments needs and to finance the budget deficit,” an IMF statement read.