Egypt has been engaged for several weeks in unofficial talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a USD 7.1bn facility, sources in Cairo and Washington DC tell Al Shorouk. The newspaper cited sources close to the talks as suggesting, however, that a facility in the USD5.8bn range is more likely and question whether Egypt can implement the preconditions for the facility in time to close it before year’s end. Those conditions include cuts to the subsidy programs for fuel, electricity, drinking water and public transportation. In related news, Al Borsa reported that IMF mission chief in Egypt Chris Jarvis said any assistance package for Egypt would be a function of both need and the country’s special drawing rights (SDR) under the IMF system. The IMF’s 14th general review of quotas in January saw Egypt’s SDR raised to USD 2.037bn from USD 943.7mn the year before. (Al Shorouk, Al Borsa)