IMF chief Georgieva says ‘huge coverage points’ resolved in talks with Egypt By Reuters

By Andrea Shalal and Omar Fahmy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Worldwide Financial Fund officers have resolved all “huge coverage points” with Egyptian authorities of their discussions on a brand new lending program, and can meet once more on Saturday, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva mentioned Friday.

Georgieva instructed a information convention that the 2 sides had been nonetheless engaged on smaller technical particulars, however these weren’t trivial issues and concerned Egyptian change price insurance policies.

Egyptian Finance Minister Mohamed Maiit instructed a neighborhood TV channel late on Friday that Egyptian authorities are within the ultimate stage of negotiations with the fund and he expects his nation to signal an IMF deal “very quickly.”

Maiit didn’t announce how a lot Egypt is asking, saying this level remains to be beneath negotiation with the IMF, however in a few days a ultimate quantity could be introduced.

“The IMF didn’t make calls for relating to the funds, monetary insurance policies, and the subsidy program. The fund is eager on this stage that requires social safety and help to the segments of society affected by the inflationary wave,” he mentioned, including that the IMF was, nonetheless, “eager on change price flexibility.”

Egypt has been pushing to tie up a brand new IMF package deal in the course of the annual conferences of the IMF and World in Washington this week, hoping to stem a forex disaster that has restricted imports and sparked market unease over international debt repayments.

It started talks with the IMF for a monetary assist package deal in March, quickly after the Ukrainian disaster threw its already unsettled funds into additional disarray and led international traders to tug almost $20 billion out of Egyptian treasury markets in a matter of weeks.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:) has calculated that Egypt wants a complete assist package deal of $15 billion on high of funds already obtained from Gulf international locations earlier this 12 months.

Maait has instructed native media that Egypt might anticipate simply $3-$5 billion, however one particular person acquainted with the matter mentioned the package deal would probably be on the decrease finish of this vary.