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IMF says preparing for first review of Egypt programme, dates to be confirmed

IMF says preparing for first review of Egypt programme, dates to be confirmed

General view of Cairo, Egypt. (Credit: Amir Makar/AFP)

CAIRO — Preparations for the first review of Egypt's economic reform program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have begun and dates for the review mission will be announced when agreed with the authorities, an IMF spokesperson said on Thursday.

In December, the IMF approved a $3 billion Extended Fund Facility loan for Egypt, which has been under acute financial pressure since long-standing problems were exposed by the economic fallout from the war in Ukraine.

Disbursements under the 46-month program are subject to eight reviews, the first of which was dated March 15, 2023, in an IMF staff report published in December.

Among the key commitments that Egypt made to secure the loan was a permanent shift to a flexible exchange rate regime and wide-ranging structural reforms to reduce the state's footprint in the economy.

Egypt's currency has lost nearly 50 percent of its value over the past year following three sharp devaluations. In the past two weeks, it has traded in a narrow band between 30.75 and 30.95 pounds to the dollar, according to Eikon data, although the pound's value on the black market has slipped.

Analysts say the pound has come under renewed pressure partly due to delays in expected sales of state assets.

CAIRO — Preparations for the first review of Egypt's economic reform program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have begun and dates for the review mission will be announced when agreed with the authorities, an IMF spokesperson said on Thursday.In December, the IMF approved a $3 billion Extended Fund Facility loan for Egypt, which has been under acute financial...