IMF green-lights $2.5 billion finance package for Egypt bailout

Egypt will get immediate access to some $1.2 billion that the International Monetary Fund approved after a review of the economic bailout program it undertook three years ago.

The IMF gave a green light on Monday to $2.5 billion in financing for Egypt, of which the other $1.3 billion is dedicated to spending on climate change and will be allocated in installments.

In a progress report on the 2022 rescue package, the IMF found “notable delays” on economic steps it mandated to “level the playing field.”

Still, it noted progress by the government and praised its “decisive action” over the past year on selling off state assets and maintaining a flexible currency exchange rate.

Emirates Development Bank to provide billions in new financing to private sector

Emirates Development Bank (EDB) is loosening the purse strings, aiming to massively increase financing to the private sector by 2026.

The bank announced it will provide financing worth AED 30 billion ($8.2 billion) by 2026, targeting the 13,500 companies operating in key sectors for the UAE’s diversification efforts, including renewable energy, industry, advanced technology, healthcare and food security, according to Shaker Zainal, Business Finance Director at EDB.

On the sidelines of the Make it in the Emirates Forum on Monday, he said the bank has allocated $1.36 billion in financing for industrial projects so far this year.

Access to financing is one of the top hurdles for small- and medium-sized enterprises looking to grow in the Gulf. To address the access to credit or equity financing gap, development banks across the region have cropped up in the last decade, with EDB launching in 2015.