New Egypt minister committed to market economy

Hazem el-Beblawi, who has yet to take the oath of office, said he did not rule out the possibility of borrowing from the International Monetary Fund, after his predecessor negotiated a $3 billion loan package that Cairo later turned down.

He also said in the telephone interview that his message to investors was that Egypt's difficulties were temporary, adding: "For someone who has a long-term view, this is the time to come and to act on the future because of course anyone who comes now will find much better terms than he can later."