Egypt to receive fourth tranche of IMF loan next week following board’s approval

Egypt expects to receive the fourth tranche of a USD 12 bn extended fund facility from the IMF this week, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait told Youm7. The IMF’s board signed off on the disbursement of the USD 2.02 bn tranche on Friday; it will bring to USD 8 bn the total Egypt has so far received since signing the agreement in 2016 bn, according to an IMF press release carried by Reuters. The IMF had decided to “postpone the date for approving the next tranche of its Egypt loan to a day after the rate decision” was made, notes Bloomberg. That signals the IMF’s “continued hawkish oversight, favoring monetary austerity until inflation and money supply growth are tamed,” Naeem brokerage said in a note picked up by Bloomberg. Egypt and the IMF had reached a staff-level agreement back in May, following a positive third review of progress on economic and structural reform, which found that the country had made solid progress, with inflation levels cooling and GDP growth accelerating.