Egypt IMF loan to be repaid in 10 yrs, targets higher growth

Egypt’s three-year, $12 billion IMF loan scheme will be repaid in 10 years with a grace period of 4 years and half geared to boost growth and curb inflation, ministry of finance said in a statement Sunday.

The loan is divided into six tranches, two disbursements each year over the period of three years.

The statement said the reforms target GDP growth of 5.5 percent and inflation of less than 10 percent by the 2018-19 financial year.

The International Monetary Fund approved on Friday a programme aimed at helping Egypt close its budget gap and rebalance its currency markets.