The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has expressed its readiness to release the fifth and sixth instalments of Egypt's $8 billion loan before the end of 2025, The New Arab's Arabic language edition has reported on Friday.
The decision to release the last instalments of the loan, which are worth $1.7 billion, follows a week of arduous negotiations between Egypt and the IMF at the financial institution's annual meeting with the World Bank in Washington.
Egypt's delegation, which included Central Bank governor Hassan Abdullah and the ministers of finance, economic development, planning and investment, presented Cairo's plan to implement institutional and monetary reforms.
A press release from Egypt's cabinet indicated that the meetings were more positive than expected, with Cairo and the IMF broadly agreeing on the vision for Egypt's priorities in the next phase, including strengthening the private sector and controlling inflation.
Al-Araby Al-Jadeed quoted economist Abdel Nabi Abdel Muttalib as saying that the most sensitive issue was that of foreign currency availability, with the IMF concluding that the levels available in banks do not match the pace of import demands.
The economist highlighted that Egypt was not only aiming to receive the next instalments of the $8 billion loan, but was also trying to secure an additional $1.3 billion loan to boost investor confidence, shifting the focus from financing deficits to stimulating production and exports.
Sources cited by Al-Araby Al-Jadeed said the IMF had set two key benchmarks for renewing confidence in Egypt's reform programme. These include maintaining a market-driven exchange rate without Central Bank interference, and significantly boosting privatisation revenues, which so far have reached only 50 percent of the 2025 target.
Egypt has received successive financing facilities from the IMF since 2016, when it agreed to a $12 billion loan program to revive its economy. As part of the funding, the IMF has urged Cairo to cut subsidies on fuel, electricity, and food while expanding social safety nets.
Earlier in October, the government raised prices on a wide range of fuel products, marking the second increase this year. By reducing subsidies, Egypt hopes to ease its budget deficit.
The increases of 10.5 percent to 12.9 percent on a wide range of petroleum products followed a hike of nearly 15 percent in April.