Egypt to receive $5.2 billion IMF standby loan in H2 – experts

Egypt is expected to receive a 5.2 billion one-year International Monetary Fund (IMF) standby loan within the second half of June, informed sources told Al Masry Al Youm on Saturday.

IMF announced on Friday that it had reached a staff-level agreement with Egypt for a one-year, loan, designed to help the North African country grapple with the novel coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout.

According to a statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Finance, the loan proves the IMF’s confidence in both the country’s monetary and financial policies and its handling of the pandemic.

The loan supports the confidence of global markets and investors in the Egyptian economy’s solidity and capacity to deal with the pandemic, the statement read.

Economic expert Fakhry al-Fekky, former assistant IMF executive director, told Al Masry Al Youm that the loan will help the Egyptian government face the coronavirus outbreak’s impact on foreign reserves.

The Egyptian government is set to receive the loan through two tranches, al-Fekky added.

Financial expert Hany Tawfik told Al Masry Al Youm that the amount of the IMF loan equals three to four months of Egypt’s tourism revenues.

In April, the Egyptian government announced that it has requested a new financial package from the IMF – under the fund’s Rapid Funding Tool and the Stand-By Arrangement programmes — to enhance the state’s efforts to combat the pandemic.

The move aimed at maintaining the gains Egypt’s economic reform programme has made.