Pragmatic, liberalising Egypt looks to clear IOC arrears

Officials and corporate executives are talking up the improved business environment they see resulting from the three-year $12bn facility agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last November, support from the World Bank Group (WBG) and other multilaterals, and continued financial flows from the Gulf states. This has helped to stabilise the Egyptian pound and should allow Cairo to finance critical infrastructure developments – led by new power plants – and tackle the burden of arrears owed to international oil companies (IOCs).