The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Executive Board plans to vote Thursday on the first review of Egypt’s economic reform programme, in which Egypt will receive $1.25bn.
Egypt has received the first tranche of the loan, worth $2.75bn, in November 2016.
The IMF had agreed on Egypt’s loan, worth $12bn, in 2016.
The IMF delegation came to Egypt to review the reforms with the government last May. They announced in a statement that the IMF team and the Egyptian authorities had reached an expert-level agreement on the first review of Egypt’s economic reform programme that is supported by the IMF.
They also added that the agreement is subject to the approval of the IMF’s Executive Board, and allows Egypt to get $1.25bn, bringing the total amount disbursed under the program to $4bn.
Egypt had agreed with the IMF on an economic reform programme that includes the liberalisation of the Egyptian pound exchange rate, reforming the tax system by applying a value-added tax (VAT), reducing fuel and electricity subsidies, and reforming the state budget.
Meanwhile, Egypt has carried out a series of reforms concerning the energy subsidies system during the past weeks, raising fuel prices by 6-100%, electricity prices by 44%, and increasing the VAT rate to 14% during the current fiscal year, instead of 13% in FY 2016/2017.
