We took another step closer to the IMF loan yesterday as Egypt reportedly secured a USD 2.7 bn currency swap agreement with China, Bloomberg’s Tarek El Tablawy reports. “The agreement is being processed by the Chinese authorities, an Egyptian central bank official said Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity,” El Tablawy wrote, noting that no additional details on the terms or timing of the agreement were provided. CI Capital senior economist Hany Farahat says “there’s a chance the funding will be expensive, but regardless of the agreement’s structure, we need every penny we can get.” Bloomberg also asked the People’s Bank of China for comment (“A fax was sent to the People’s Bank of China seeking comment.”)

A Pharos Holding research note yesterday (pdf) claimed the Chinese swap means the USD 6 bn in funding the IMF was demanding as a condition of the USD 12 bn extended fund facility is now complete.