An unnamed official told reporters that the first USD2.5bn payment the IMF loan is arriving in 15 days. The payment represents part of USD4bn first tranche of the three-year loan worth USD12bn in total. Egypt has also secured the USD6bn in bilateral funding required by the IMF, according to the source who added that China and Egypt have reached a loan agreement last week, and that Saudi Arabia's USD2bn funding was allocated for the IMF required additional funding. The source also said that an announcement on the subsidy reduction is expected to come soon, and that the latest decision to form a committee to set profit margin on basic goods is part of the process. Egypt's Prime Minister Sherif Ismail had said last Tuesday that the country secured only 60% of the required funding. (Al Masry Al Youm, Al Mal, Reuters)