Egypt expects to receive the fifth instalment of its $12 billion IMF loan programme in January, the president’s office said weekend.

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The International Monetary Fund offered the three-year loan programme in 2016 after Egypt agreed to a package of reforms including the devaluation of the pound, cuts to energy subsidies and the introduction of a value-added tax.The IMF postponed a review of Egypt’s economic reform programme, initially planned for earlier this month, prompting speculation that the fifth tranche of the loan, worth $2 billion, might be delayed.

However, central bank Governor Tarek Amer briefed President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday on the “positive results” of the IMF’s most recent staff team visit to Egypt, Sisi’s office said in a statement.