IMF agreement could pave the way for more foreign financing: Officials expect our agreement with the IMF to help secure a total of USD 20 bn in foreign support, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said on Thursday during AmCham’s monthly luncheon — under the title Egypt at the Crossroads: Fiscal Policy for Economic Revival — attended by Enterprise.

The breakdown: The USD 20 bn figure includes the USD 8 bn IMF package we agreed on with the Fund last week and a still-in-talks USD 1-1.2 bn in climate finance under the Fund’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility. The remaining USD 11 bn will come from international partners including the World Bank, European Union, Japan, and the UK, Maait said.

Morgan Stanley sees us securing funding from the World Bank and the EU in the coming days, according to a report seen by Enterprise. A senior government official told Enterprise that we can finalize the agreements with the EU and the World Bank shortly after the IMF executive board approves the USD 8 bn program — the board will meet to consider the pact before the end of March.

ALSO FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF GOOD NEWS- Morgan Stanley also expects credit rating agency Moody’s to upgrade Egypt’s rating to B3 from Caa1 and sees a mega jump in the country’s FX reserves to USD 58.3 bn by the end of the year and to USD 67.4 bn in 2026.

** Moody’s has just upgraded its Egypt outlook to positive. We have the full story in the news well, below.

Maait’s comments received attention from: Bloomberg | Reuters.

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