Report: Head of IMF says world body to attend investors conference in Egypt in February

CAIRO – The head of the International Monetary Fund says the world body will attend an investment conference in Egypt scheduled for February. The gathering is meant to attract foreign funding, badly needed if Egypt is to revive its battered economy.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde made the announcement in an interview with Saudi-owned Ashraq Al-Awsat newspaper published on Sunday.

Lagarde says Egypt has not asked for an IMF loan — which it hasn't secured during negotiations in the past three years of turmoil — but wants the IMF to resume its periodic economic assessments of the country's economy. IMF last conducted such a review for Egypt in 2010.

The government hopes a positive IMF assessment would boost investors' confidence in Egypt's economy. Authorities hope the conference will raise $100 billion.