Egypt to Reconsider IMF Loan: Report

Egypt may reconsider an International Monetary Fund loan which it turned down in June, with donor countries having fallen short of meeting pledges, the finance minister was quoted as saying Wednesday.

Hazem al-Beblawi added Egypt was also negotiating financing of up to seven billion dollars from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the English-language website of state-owned daily Al-Ahram reported.

"Everyone knows the IMF has proposed a package of aid of $3.2 billion. At the time we were hesitant. Now we won't change our stand but we are changing our attitude," the website quoted him as saying.

Beblawi's predecessor turned down the IMF package after the military, in charge of the country since an uprising ousted President Husni Mubarak in February, said it did not want to amass foreign debt.

After the revolt, Egypt received pledges of billions of dollars, including a Saudi pledge of four billion dollars.

A government official told Agence France Presse the caretaker cabinet was reconsidering the IMF loan partly because Arab and other countries did not follow through on their pledges.

"We do not reject borrowing from the IMF. It is an available alternative that can be used in need," he said,

"Many Arab and donor countries made promises. But nothing arrived," said the official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic.

The official added that the government was leaning towards foreign funding partly to ease increasing labor unrest.

The political and economic outlook has been mired in uncertainty, and heightened frustration at the military rulers' handling of the transition from authoritarian rule has led to protests, strikes and sporadic clashes.

Last week, the military laid out the timetable for the first post-Mubarak parliamentary elections which will start on November 28 and be staggered over four months.

Tourism, one of its main earners, dropped by 35.4 percent in the second quarter compared with the same period last year, according to an official tally.

And a court decision to nationalize three private companies last month raised fears among foreign investors that Egypt was heading towards a policy of nationalization.