Agreement between IMF and Egypt will be signed in a few hours

A high-level source said that it is planned to announce in the coming hours the signing of the new financing agreement between the Egyptian government and IMF that would strengthen the economic reform programme and increase the flow of foreign liquidity to the domestic market.

This came after the Central Bank of Egypt on Wednesday morning raised interest rates by 600 basis points equivalent to 6% to reach 27.25% levels.

The central bank also allowed today to move the exchange rate as the exchange rate of the dollar in Egyptian banks increased and the sale rate reached to EGP 50.60, while the purchase rate recorded EGP 50.50.

Kristalina Georgieva, IMF Managing Director, told Reuters earlier that key issues had been resolved with the Egyptian authorities and that IMF would finalize a larger funding package within weeks.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly stated after the signing of Ras El Hekma deal that the Government was currently working to finalize the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which gave signs of reaching a final agreement and getting a funding programme delayed repeatedly because of the failure to complete IMF's reviews of Egypt's economic programme.