Egypt receives $2 billion Saudi deposit in boost for IMF deal

Egypt has received a $2 billion deposit from Saudi Arabia, an Egyptian central bank official said on Wednesday, bringing it closer to securing a $12 billion lifeline from the International Monetary Fund.

The official, who commented in a text message and asked not to be named because the information isn’t yet public, didn’t specify when Egypt received the funds, Bloomberg and Aswat Masriya reported.

Officials


ginger_software_uiphraseguid="dc4acc21-eaf1-4faf-a502-68c393bee413" class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark">at Saudi Arabia’s finance ministry couldn’t immediately be reached for comment outside regular office hours on Wednesday.

Egypt is seeking as much as $6 billion from bilateral creditors to meet the conditions for the IMF’s board to consider the loan. Officials hope will help restore investor confidence and end a foreign currency shortage that has crippled economic growth. Egypt’s net foreign reserves rose by $3 billion in September to $19.6 billion.