Egypt's Beblawi 'Committed' to Market Economy, Strong State

"I am committed to the market economy with a strong government," El Beblawi, who was also named deputy prime minister, said in a phone interview. "It's not an intelligent action to exclude lending from your options. Also, it's not wise to go and rush and accept loans from anywhere."

Egypt's economy is still reeling from the turmoil that accompanied the revolt that ousted President Hosni Mubarak and hit revenues from tourism and other industries. The economy contracted by 4.2 percent in the quarter that ended in March and investment saw an annual decrease of 26 percent in the same period, the central bank said on June 9.

El Beblawi said he didn't have enough information about the circumstances under which Egypt reached an agreement to borrow $3 billion from the International Monetary Fund and then ruled immediate plans to take the funds.

"I don't know what they proposed and why we accepted in the first place and then refused it," he said. "Loans can be bad and can be good. It all depends on the needs of the country, on the terms, on how they are used."