IMF Review of Egypt's Loan Could Take Place before Year-end: Finance Minister

Mohamed Maait, Minister of Finance, announced  Wednesday, that there will be an announcement soon about the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) review with Egypt.

Maait added, in statements to CNBC Arabia, that $52 billion had been paid over the past two years, pointing out that Egypt had succeeded in converting the deficit into a continuous surplus in the general budget.

He pointed out that the expected growth rate in the new general budget is 4.1%, pointing out that there are $2.5 billion proceeds from the bond offering by the end of the current fiscal year.

He revealed that the review with the IMF may take place before the end of this year, explaining that the rise in inflation in Egypt came due to the repercussions of pandemic and geopolitical tensions.

It is noteworthy that the IMF announced in a statement on its official website, yesterday, that it expected the growth of the Egyptian economy in the current fiscal year to reach 4.2%, while it reduced its growth expectations in 2024 to 3.6%.

The Fund expected that Egypt would record the highest growth rate in the region this year, reaching 4.2%, an increase of 0.5% over July expectations. But growth will not continue its upward trend, as the report expects it to slow to 3.6% next year.

The International Monetary Fund also said, in a report in which it lowered its expectations for economic expansion, that economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa will contract for the second year in a row in 2023 before rebounding in 2024, according to Reuters.