IMF ties Egypt loan disbursements to currency flexibility
The IMF will tie payments to Egypt under an $8 billion financial programme to Cairo's letting market conditions determine the price of its currency and its making foreign exchange available to businesses and private individuals, the IMF said on Monday.
Egypt, which signed the loan agreement on March 6, will have immediate access to $820 million this week and another $820 million after a review to be completed by the end of June.
Subsequent reviews will be made every six months, with each unlocking payments of $1.3 billion provided certain conditions are met, with the last payment in autumn of 2026, mission chief Ivanna Vladkova Hollar told a news conference.
The International Monetary Fund's executive board approved the programme on Friday, expanding on a $3 billion Extended Fund Facility signed in December 2022 after the crisis in neighbouring Gaza further shook Egypt's already precarious economy.