Egypt has the USD 6 bn in third-party funding it needs to unlock the USD 12 bn IMF extended fund facility, according to an official from the Ministry of Finance. The announcement came just hours after Bloomberg’s Ahmed Feteha reported that the Central Bank of Egypt had received a USD 2 bn deposit from Saudi Arabia, citing an unnamed source at the Central Bank of Egypt. Officials from the Saudi finance ministry and SAMA (its central bank) did not immediately respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment. Neither the CBE nor the IMF responded to Reuters’ request for comment on Feteha’s report, which did not specify when the deposit arrived.

Official confirmation: Deputy Finance Minister for International Affairs Ayman Al-Qaffas subsequently confirmed that we have the USD 6 bn we need to close the IMF facility. Al-Qaffas did not break-down the origin of the funding, saying only that it came from multiple countries. The IMF has been informed of the development, he said, according to Al Shorouk. A senior CBE official tells Al Borsa that part of the USD 6 bn came from Germany.

Reports of the Saudi deposit come despite signs that new tensions with Riyadh remain unresolved. Egyptian government officials were at pains yesterday to reassure the market that Saudi Arabia remains committed to its funding agreements with Egypt despite any perceived deterioration in ties over the past week as a result of Aramco delaying October’s petroleum products shipments to Egypt, Al Borsa suggests. November’s shipments will arrive on time, an official said, confirming Tuesday’s statements by Oil Ministry spokesperson Hamdy Abdel Aziz.

This comes as the Saudi Ambassador Ahmed Kattan left Cairo for Riyadh yesterday on a three-day visit. Al Masry Al Youm says Kattan is in Saudi Arabia to deliberate on “recent developments” in relations between Cairo and Riyadh and is scheduled to return on Saturday. The Saudi ambassador’s trip comes ahead of a rumored upcoming visit by a high-level Egyptian delegation to Riyadh, as we noted yesterday based on a report from Youm7 citing unnamed diplomatic sources. Saudi’s Al Arabiya expanded on the report, also citing the domestic press here, saying that Egyptian and Saudi officials will discuss a new draft UN resolution on Syria “to be presented to the Security Council within days.” Egypt’s vote on two conflicting UN resolutions on Syria last weekend had exacerbated the tensions between the two countries. Separately, a Saudi delegation is expected to arrive in Egypt to begin jointly reviewing bids on installing transformers for the Saudi-Egypt power grid link, Gamal Abdel Rahim, head of the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company tells Al Borsa. Bidders include Siemens, ABB Group, and Alstom.

Is something playing out with KSA behind closed doors? Saudi aviation authorities are reportedly delaying approving private Egyptian airlines’ flight schedules to Saudi Arabia for the winter season, the head of Egypt’s air transport association told Al Mal. He says the season begins on 30 October and the airlines have been waiting for approval for over three months. The airlines have lodged a number of complaints over the delay as the season draws closer with the authorities having already approved Saudi airlines’ schedules. And promises by Aramco to restore petroleum shipments in November have not stopped Egypt from seeking backup plans, as the Kuwait National Petroleum Company has apparently reduced the price of oil shipments headed to the Sidi Kerir Port by USD 0.15 per bbl FOB, traders told Al Masry Al Youm. This comes as the government said it started receiving shipments from alternative sources this week, without stating their origin. Meanwhile, Saudi media continued to savage Egypt yesterday, as we note in “Egypt in the News,” below.

Additional Saudi funding could be in question: The deposit fulfills a crucial part of the financing promised to Egypt during King Salman’s visit in April. By Youm7’s count — based on a review of statements by International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr — as much as USD 19 bn in pledged Saudi funding could still be in the pipeline:

• USD 2.5 bn grant: The USD 500 mn first tranche of the grant was sent in May, with promises to send USD 2 bn by January 2017 at the latest;
• USD 1.5 bn in funding for Sinai development from the Saudi Development Fund: USD 500 mn was received.
• SAR 60 bn Saudi-Egyptian Investment Fund: No updates as of yet on this.