Egypt strikes initial deal with IMF on loan reviews

Egypt and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) struck a preliminary deal that moves the country closer to clearing two much-awaited program reviews and accessing more of a $8 billion loan.

The staff-level agreement puts Egypt on track to get two tranches worth a combined $2.5 billion of its Extended Fund Facility. It still needs a sign-off from the Washington-based lender’s executive board.

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“An IMF team and the Egyptian authorities have reached staff level agreement on the fifth and sixth reviews under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement and the first review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF),” the IMF said in a statement.

Egypt’s progress in IMF talks is closely watched by investors, who view it as a bellwether of the North African nation’s efforts to turn around the economy after securing a $57 billion bailout from a range of global allies last year.

The fund postponed the fifth review of Egypt’s program and then combined it with the following one, as it waited for authorities to make more headway in a long-running pledge to sell off state assets.

The separate RSF facility is worth about $1.3 billion in total and also meant to be disbursed in tranches.

An IMF delegation was in Cairo in the first half of December to discuss the matter. The fund has frequently urged authorities to roll back the state’s involvement in the economy and let the private sector compete more freely.

The visit came shortly after the announcement of a deal that will see Qatar invest in a tourism development on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast and provide Cairo with $3.5 billion in cash. The gas-rich Gulf nation has committed to invest almost $30 billion over the course of the seven-year project.

The size of Egypt’s existing 46-month EFF arrangement was more than doubled in March 2024, after a mammoth investment by the United Arab Emirates on the same coastline gave authorities fiscal scope to devalue the pound by about 40%.

While the Egyptian economy has stabilized thanks to last year’s mega-injections — and the central bank’s dollar reserves are at a record high — authorities are trying to attract a sustained flow of large-scale foreign direct investment.

© 2025 Bloomberg

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