IMF to vote on final loan disbursal to Cairo on July 24 – Egypt PM

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will vote on the disbursement of the final $2 billion tranche of a $12 billion loan programme to Egypt on July 24, Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli announced on Wednesday.

The three-year loan programme was signed in 2016 after Egypt agreed to a reform package including a steep devaluation of the local currency, deep cuts to energy subsidies, and the introduction of a value-added tax. The deal aimed to lure back investors and lift the economy battered by political turmoil that followed the country’s 2011 uprising.

The vote follows Egypt’s move earlier this month to carry out the final round of fuel subsidy cuts, which raised domestic prices between 16 percent and 30 percent to bring them into line with their real cost.