Egypt requests $4.8b loan from IMF

CAIRO, Eygpt - Egypt requested from the International Monetary Fund Wednesday a loan of $4.8 billion during a meeting between President Mohamed Morsiand IMF chief Christine Lagarde.

"We discussed many details about the loan, including the interest that will be 1.1 percent, and we required raising the loan from $3.2 to $4.8 billion," Prime Minister Hesham Qandil said after the meeting, adding the loan will be on five years with 39 months' grace period.

"The IMF experts will review the economic and social program of the Egyptian government," he added.

The prime minister also said talks will be held Thursday on other details, predicting the signing ceremony to take place in early December or November.

For her part, Lagarde said the IMF admired the economic and social strategies of Egypt, affirming the IMF's keenness on supporting Egypt to achieve its stability and improve its security to encourage foreign investments.

"The accurate details about the loan haven't been discussed yet, but I think all the loan procedures may be finished within two months," Lagarde said.

The loan is urgently-needed to cover the budget deficits after Egypt's foreign reserves fell to about half of the level at the end of the Mubarak era.

The government is also facing a balance of payments crisis and high borrowing costs, and the IMF loan would help avoid the currency devaluation.