Egypt to get first tranche of $1.5B Saudi loan ‘soon’

Egypt will “soon” receive the first tranche of a $1.5 billion loan from Saudi Arabia, an Egyptian minister said, a cash injection that could help to ease a dollar shortage that has weighed on economic growth. The first payment will be about $500 million, Egypt’s International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr said. The loan is one of a package of agreements worth $25 billion signed during Saudi King Salman’s visit to Cairo in April which include a $16 billion investment fund and a plan to build a bridge connecting the two nations.