Egypt eyes $2-3bn deposit from Saudi to help seal IMF deal

Egypt is in advanced talks with Saudi Arabia to secure a new deposit worth $2-3bn as part of about $6bn in bilateral financing required to seal an IMF loan, the finance minister said in comments published by Al Borsa newspaper.

Borsa quoted Amr El-Garhy as saying that negotiations with Saudi Arabia were due to be completed in the next few weeks.

It was not clear if Garhy was expecting Egypt to agree on the disbursement of a $2bn deposit agreed with Saudi Arabia in April or if the country was seeking new funding.

Egypt reached a preliminary agreement with the International Monetary Fund in August for a $12bn three-year lending programme to help it plug its funding gap and stabilise markets. But the deal requires Egypt to secure a further $6bn in bilateral financing.