Egypt ups IMF loan request to $4.8 bln
BY AMIRA SALAH-AHMED Cairo: Egypt’s new government has officially requested a $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, significantly higher than the original $3.2 billion on the table since July 2011. The five-year loan comes at an interest of 1.1 percent with a 39-month grace period, Prime Minister Hesham Qandil said Wednesday at a conference with IMF chief Christine Lagarde. “The loan should be finalized before the year’s end or sooner if possible,” Qandil said, “and our program will focus on the budget deficit, supporting investment and targeting subsidies to the poor.” “This is a homegrown program developed by…
Qandil: Technocrat vs. revolutionary
BY NICHOLAS OXENHORN Hesham Qandil, prime minister of mystery. At least he seems to be, as in no one knows very much about him. So can we make any judgments about the man who will lead Egypt’s first non-transitional post-Mubarak government? Do we know his perspectives? His opinions? His ideology? His inclinations? In response to criticism of his religiosity and out of concern that he may be from out political group or another, he proclaimed himself a “technocrat.” What does this designation mean and is it meaningful? What we do know is that Qandil has worked on water management issues…
