We’re getting a fresh USD 368 mn loan from the AMF
Egypt will receive a USD 368 mn loan from the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) to help strengthen its financial position and meet “emergency needs” amid challenges caused by the ongoing pandemic, the fund announced in a statement yesterday. The loan agreement, which was signed last Wednesday, comes as part of the fund’s support for member countries’ “reform efforts” and measures taken to “stimulate the economy and provide liquidity in order to contain the negative effects of the virus outbreak.”
The facility comes on the heels of several others geared towards fueling Egypt’s post-covid economic recovery, including two matching USD 360 mn facilities from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the World Bank last year. The International Monetary Fund also lent Egypt USD 8 bn to help cover a balance of payments shortfall and finance the budget deficit at the pandemic’s outset in 2020.
And it’s not the first time the AMF has lent to us: Egypt last summer received the second tranche of a USD 639 mn loan from the AMF, which it provided under its Structural Adjustment Facility to help us improve our fiscal position. Including the most recent facility, the AMF has provided Egypt with a total of 15 loans by our count, worth an estimated USD 2.6 bn.