Egypt has not asked IMF loan increase

CAIRO: Egypt has not asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to increase its previously requested $4.8 billion loan, central bank governor Hisham Ramez said in remarks published on Sunday.

He also told al-Shorouk newspaper that Egypt could still request to increase the loan by $1 billion if the maturity period was extended to more than 30 months from the 22 months envisaged in the original deal initialled last November. (Reuters)