AMF to award Egypt USD65m credit line 

(MENAFN) The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) is raising a USD65 million credit line for Egypt to help the country trade with other Arab states, Reuters reported.

The facility will be extended through a trade financing programme run by the AMF, central banks and other financial institutions in the region, AMF explained.

Egypt has been looking for financial aid from a wide range of international donors, as its balance of payments deficit inflated to USD11 billion during the first nine months of its 2011/2012 fiscal year, as inflows of capital largely dried up.

In February, Egyptian officials said that the cash-strapped country asked for USD500 million each from the AMF and the African Development Bank (ADB), USD1 billion from the World Bank and USD660 million from the European Union.

But aid has generally been slow to arrive, partly because donors have been cautious about lending while Egypt's political outlook remains unclear.