Egypt to receive first $2.5 billion payout of IMF loan ‘in 15 days’

Egypt is set to receive the first $2.5 billion tranche of a $12 billion three-year loan facility from the International Monetary Fund within 15 days, a government source said Thursday.

Egypt has met all the IMF requirements and succeeded in securing the $6 billion from bilateral creditors needed to receive the loan, the government official told Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper.

The additional $6 billion included a financing from China, the source added.

The IMF in August agreed in principle to grant Egypt a $12 billion, three-year loan facility to support a government reform programme aimed at plugging a budget gap and rebalancing currency markets.