Egypt has rejected an offer from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a short-term bridging loan of $750mn, Egypt’s Minister of Finance al-Mursi Hijazi stated on 12 March. The stop gap financing was offered under the IMF’s Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI), a mechanism which provides limited funds while a country negotiates longer term loans.
Mr Hijazi adds that the government has moved forward with implementing an economic and social reform program even before the approval of the long-delayed IMF $4.8bn standby credit facility. He declined to give any details but noted that the budget deficit to GDP ratio will rise to 10-11% by 30 June, the end of the current fiscal year 2012-13. (This ratio was originally projected at 7.6% in the original 2012-13 budget.) (CONTINUED - 355 WORDS)
