REPORT ON IMF / WORLD BANK FALL MEETINGS- Egypt expects to receive the next USD 2 bn tranche of its IMF extended fund facility not long after the institution’s second review of the reform program concludes in the first week of November, Finance Minister Amr El Garhy said in an upcoming interview with CNBC at the fall meetings over the weekend. El Garhy next delved into the social welfare side of the reform agenda, saying that the government doubled social welfare spending in the FY2017-18 budget. El Garhy also reiterated that the tax code is stable considering the implementation of the value-added tax, according to a ministry statement.

Speaking on the next year’s eurobond issuance program, El Garhy said that the government is still in talks with investment banks on the broad strokes of the program, which is “most probably” happening in 1Q2018, he told Bloomberg in an interview. El Garhy also said as much in a meeting with his French counterpart Bruno Le Maire yesterday in D.C. We had noted on Thursday that the Finance Ministry is accept bids from investment banks interested in advising on the issuance.

The eurobond program comes as part of a wider plan to “diversify” the state’s sources of financing in an effort to plug the budget deficit and meet foreign debt obligations. That’s why the government plans to extend its USD 2 bn repurchase agreement (repo) with a consortium of international banks for another year, El Garhy added. The consortium had offered last month to modify the agreement to a USD 5 bn repo with a five-year maturity instead of one.

Gov’t makes another strong case for investment… Egypt hopes to reduce the budget deficit by an annual 1-1.5% to bring the deficit down to 4-5% by 2022, El Garhy said at a meeting with Standard Bank Group in DC over the weekend, according to a ministry statement. He reiterated that the government is targeting USD 10 bn in foreign direct investment this year. At a separate meeting with a number of US and Egyptian investors, El Garhy announced that the worst is over as far as the reforms are concerned, with markets stable, inflation falling, and the end of the FX crisis.

…and gives quiet nod to investors on privatizing energy, railways: Vice Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said from DC that the government is looking to make the energy and railway transport sectors “more efficient.” This is a nod to efforts to privatize the energy sectors through the Natural Gas Act and the Electricity Act, as well as to announcements from Transport Minister Hisham Arafat that the private sector will be brought in to manage, operate and maintain railway lines. Arafat’s most recent statement on the issue came on Friday, where he said that the government will hold back on allowing the private sector from operating railway lines until after they have been overhauled. He added that the government would open the door to the private sector to manage and run warehouses and other logistics facilities, AMAY reports.

Investment and International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr was also busy making the case for investment in Egypt at meetings with senior officials from the World Bank, IMF and other financial institutes and investors. With the WBG she discussed receiving the third USD 1 bn tranche of its USD 3 bn loan to Egypt and more funding to wastewater projects in Egypt, according to a ministry statement. She invited the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to hold its next business forum for the southern and eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region in Egypt, and pushed for the International Finance Corporation to boost its support to SME and the private sector.

While in D.C., Nasr also assumed the chairmanship of the WBG’s 2018 African Caucus, which Egypt is hosting next year. During her tenure, Nasr said she would focus on investment in infrastructure and human capital, particularly in the youth population, according to a ministry statement.