Egypt had agreed with the World Bank on the terms for obtaining a US$1 billion loan to finance projects that are part of state investment plans for fiscal year 2012/13, Finance Minister Momtaz al-Saeed told Turkish news agency Anadolu Monday.
His remarks follow lengthy negotiations in Tokyo Sunday with World Bank and International Monetary Fund officials. Egypt has sought loans from both international institutions worth $5.8 billion.
The country is struggling to bridge an estimated $22 billion budget deficit by issuing treasury notes worth $12.5 billion, besides borrowing between $10 billion and $11 billion from abroad.
According to an investment plan laid down in July by the previously ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, LE56.5 billion had been allocated for investments. But Prime Minister Hesham Qandil’s Cabinet had said it is aiming for LE100 billion in government investments.
Former Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri’s government had sought a similar World Bank loan to bridge a LE170 billion gap in the previous fiscal year 2011/12. But the bank, following the steps of other institutions, abstained from granting the loan until Egypt achieved political stability.
