Egypt receives final tranche of IMF loan

Egypt has received the final $2 billion tranche of its IMF loan, state television said on Monday.

Last month, the IMF said Egypt could draw the sixth and final tranche of the $12 billion, three-year loan program that began in 2016 after concluding its fifth and final review of Egypt’s economic reforms last month.

As part of the IMF deal, Egypt has been pushing ahead with tough economic reforms including the latest round of fuel subsidy cuts in early July, which raised domestic prices by between 16% and 30%.

“Egypt has successfully completed the three-year arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility and achieved its main objectives,” IMF Acting Managing Director David Lipton said in a statement after the final review in July.

Reforms have included the introduction of a value-added tax, deep cuts to energy subsidies and a currency devaluation, putting the budgets of tens of millions of Egyptians under strain.

The changes are aimed at luring back investors who withdrew funds from Egypt during the 2011 uprising that overthrew former dictator Hosni Mubarak. (RTRS)