Egypt receives final $1.25 bln in first tranche of IMF loan

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has received the final instalment of the first $4 billion tranche of a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), state-run news agency MENA reported on Tuesday.
The deposit follows the IMF executive board's approval of the first review of the loan, said MENA.

According to an informed source at the CBE, the bank received the instalment on Tuesday.

On Friday, the IMF's executive board approved the first review of a $12 billion loan to Egypt and has disbursed $1.25 billion, the final instalment of the first $4 billion tranche of the loan, the IMF said in a statement.

The IMF's review included an assessment of the implementation of Egypt's reform programme since 2014, which includes cutting subsidies and government expenditure while implementing new taxes.

"The approval by the IMF Executive Board of the First Review of the program shows the IMF’s strong support for Egypt in these efforts. We believe that these efforts will yield results," the fund's chief Christine Lagarde was quoted as saying in the statement last week.

In mid-August 2016, Egypt reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF over a three-year $12 billion loan to endorse the country’s fiscal reform programme, which the government embarked on in 2014 in an attempt to curb the growing state budget deficit.