Egypt refuses $750m urgent aid loan from IMF

CAIRO - Egypt's Finance Minister Al-Morsi Hegazy said Tuesday in a press statement that Egypt refused an urgent aid loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated at 750 million US dollars.

The minister said that the government made the decision out of concerns that such an urgent loan could bring about risks on the national economy, adding that the Egyptian economy is on its way to recovery and stability.

Hegazy also said that the Egyptian government has fulfilled the preparation of a reforming economic and social program, noting that Egypt, as a member in the IMF has the right of getting a loan tantamount to 300 percent of its share in the fund, which means about 4.8 billion US dollars.

Egypt is currently struggling for a rescue loan of 4.8 billion US dollars from the IMF to survive a severe financial crisis created by two years of turmoil and instability following the upheaval in early 2011 that ousted former President Hosni Mubarak.

Egypt's Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Hesham Qandil tries to knock all the doors to relieve the ailing economy as the budget deficit is expected to reach 26.74 billion US dollars in the fiscal year 2012-2013.