The three major shipping lines have asked the Suez Canal Authority to do better than the 3% it’s offering them in return for their pre-paying as much as USD 4 bn as a three-year advance on transit fees. The advances would be deposited at the Central Bank of Egypt, unnamed sources tell Al Mal, which say the discount could go up to 8%, but the SCA’s counter-offer includes larger advances for larger discounts. The SCA has offered no official comment on the story.