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AFP
Cairo
Egypt will make further cuts to energy subsidies, raise taxes and seek more international financing as it pursues economic reforms this year, Finance Minister Amr El-Garhy said on Sunday.
Speaking at a Cairo press conference, Garhy said the steps are part of ongoing economic reforms the country urgently needs.
The International Monetary Fund approved last year a $12 billion loan after Egypt floated its pound and cut energy subsidies.
The finance minister also revealed that the IMF loan carries an interest rate of 1.5 to 1.75 percent.
The reforms come as Egypt faces major economic challenges after the political turmoil that followed the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak.
Economic growth has slowed, investment has fallen sharply and currency reserves have plunged.
Egypt's government agreed in November to slash fuel subsidies as part of the IMF reform package but because the country floated its currency at the same time, the subsidy bill ballooned, Garhy said.
The cost of subsidies rose"as a result of the exchange rate we currently have and... that we as a state import a large part of our petroleum needs," he said, without providing figures.
"This, right now, is the biggest challenge" the government faces on the economy, Garhy said.
