Egypt, IMF ink $3bn new loan program deal

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday it had agreed a $3 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) over 46 months with Egypt, Reuters reports.
The deal is part of a four-year international financing program worth a total of $9 billion which also includes $1 billion from the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) and $5 billion from international partners.
The 3 billion EFF is conditioned by a durable exchange rate flexibility. Egypt is expected to use the money to stabilize its economy and to face external shocks.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly also indicated that the deal also aims to create jobs in the private sector.
Egypt turned to the IMF in March in the wake of the advent of the Russia-Ukraine crisis that pushed up its bills for wheat and oil while dealing a blow to tourism from two of its largest markets, Ukraine and Russia, a key source of hard currency.
Egypt’s currency fell by about 13.5% to a record low against the dollar on Thursday after the central bank said it had moved to the new regime in advance of the deal’s announcement and raised interest rates by 200 basis points.