Back to the complete issue
Tuesday, 18 October 2022

Maait takes to the airwaves to talk IMF

Finance Minister Mohamed Maait hit the talk shows last night after a week in Washington attending the IMF / World Bank meetings. He joined Ala Mas’ouletty (watch, runtime: 15:04) and Hadrat El Mowaten (watch, runtime: 13:31) to talk all things IMF and economy.

The announcement on our assistance loan from the IMF will come “quickly,” Maait said. We were expecting a final agreement during the meetings in DC last week, where local officials, including Maait and CBE governor Hassan Abdalla, met with the IMF. The two sides ultimately only agreed to reach a staff-level agreement “very soon.”

Size doesn’t matter: More important than the size of the financing is the message the agreement will send to the world — that Egypt is working on economic reforms supported by the IMF, Maait told Ala Mas’ouleety. Regular readers will not be surprised to hear that Maait once again declined to disclose the expected size of the loan. Reuters has quoted sources as saying that the package is likely at the lower end of a USD 3-5 bn range.

Our take: What matters most is the commitment the IMF will surely demand on FX — namely that we will, finally, allow the currency to float. That’s what will unlock portfolio and foreign direct investment alike.

Social protection measures are ringfenced, Maait reiterated, adding that the IMF had no objections to government efforts to beef up the social safety net.

REMEMBER- Egypt entered talks with the IMF in March as part of a bid to lock in financial support following the economic shocks caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine, rising interest rates, and the global-risk off in financial markets.

Enterprise is a daily publication of Enterprise Ventures LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (commercial register 83594), and a subsidiary of Inktank Communications. Summaries are intended for guidance only and are provided on an as-is basis; kindly refer to the source article in its original language prior to undertaking any action. Neither Enterprise Ventures nor its staff assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, whether in the form of summaries or analysis. © 2022 Enterprise Ventures LLC.

Enterprise is available without charge thanks to the generous support of HSBC Egypt (tax ID: 204-901-715), the leading corporate and retail lender in Egypt; EFG Hermes (tax ID: 200-178-385), the leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets; SODIC (tax ID: 212-168-002), a leading Egyptian real estate developer; SomaBay (tax ID: 204-903-300), our Red Sea holiday partner; Infinity (tax ID: 474-939-359), the ultimate way to power cities, industries, and homes directly from nature right here in Egypt; CIRA (tax ID: 200-069-608), the leading providers of K-12 and higher level education in Egypt; Orascom Construction (tax ID: 229-988-806), the leading construction and engineering company building infrastructure in Egypt and abroad; Moharram & Partners (tax ID: 616-112-459), the leading public policy and government affairs partner; Palm Hills Developments (tax ID: 432-737-014), a leading developer of commercial and residential properties; Mashreq (tax ID: 204-898-862), the MENA region’s leading homegrown personal and digital bank; Industrial Development Group (IDG) (tax ID:266-965-253), the leading builder of industrial parks in Egypt; Hassan Allam Properties (tax ID:  553-096-567), one of Egypt’s most prominent and leading builders; and Saleh, Barsoum & Abdel Aziz (tax ID: 220-002-827), the leading audit, tax and accounting firm in Egypt.