Economy IMF postpones $820m Egypt loan meeting By Shane McGinley July 11, 2024, 12:54 PM Pexels Egypt recorded its highest foreign exchange reserves ever in June Date put back to July 29 Move after record forex reserves More lending deals in pipeline An executive meeting between Egypt and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to discuss the North African country’s next loan instalment has been postponed to the end of the month. “The IMF executive board meeting on Egypt’s third review under the extended fund facility has been rescheduled to July 29th,” the IMF’s Egypt mission chief, Ivanna Vladkova Hollar, told Reuters. The meeting will discuss the next loan disbursement of $820 million, which was previously scheduled for Wednesday this week. NewsletterGet the Best of AGBI delivered straight to your inbox every week Egypt recorded its highest foreign exchange reserves ever in June, after remittances rose almost 75 percent year on year, it was reported this week. Reserves reached $46.38 billion, boosted by the disbursement of loans and investment deals, as well as the return of remittance payments to the formal banking sector, and were up from $46.13 billion in May, which itself was also a record. Egypt shows signs of recovery after landmark IMF deal Egypt secures expanded $8bn loan from IMF IMF to release $820m from Egypt $8bn loan programme Economic analysts say the country’s forex reserves could climb yet higher, with lending deals between Egypt and a number of multinational organisations to be concluded soon. The Cairo government reached a staff level agreement with the IMF last month to disburse a $1.2 billion tranche of the $8 billion extended fund facility agreed in March. That third tranche could be released imminently, subject to IMF board approval. A further $1 billion of concessional loans from the European Union and a $700 million tranche of a $3 billion loan from the World Bank are both expected to be deposited in Egypt’s central bank vaults before the end of the year.
