Egypt is currently well-positioned to complete the fifth and sixth reviews of its USD 8 bn Extended Fund Facility (EFF) with the IMF — a key milestone that would help cement international confidence in the Egyptian economy, Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk said yesterday, speaking at an AmCham event attended by EnterpriseAM. Egypt has been committed to the reforms agreed upon with the Fund, he said.

We still have ways to go: Despite his optimism, Kouchouk stressed that there remains an “essential and fundamental” need to carry out further measures, and that efforts are underway to boost confidence in the country and its creditworthiness.

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REMEMBER- The IMF will send a mission on 1 October to Egypt to wrap up its fifth and sixth reviews, a senior government official told EnterpriseAM late last week. The reviews — alongside the first tranche from the Fund’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility — could unlock some USD 2.7 bn.

We suspect his message has something to do with the Fund previously pushing back our fifth review, with reportedly citing the government’s inability to meet structural benchmarks under the facility, namely disinvestment targets.

Progress on the privatization front is one of the fund’s most important demands, a source close to discussions between the IMF and Egypt previously told EnterpriseAM. For the IMF, privatizing state assets doesn’t just create FX inflows; it also works toward expanding private sector activity in the economy, we were told.

There has been some progress on that front: The Madbouly government has appointed investment banks and counsels for 10 companies as they prepare to offer up stakes to the private sector.

Executing transactions under the state privatization program signals the government’s seriousness about involving the private sector, Kouchouk said.

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