Egypt says will not need IMF and World Bank funds

Finance Minister Samir Radwan said on Saturday Egypt would not need funds from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, although a deal had been agreed, after budget revisions cut the forecast deficit.

"We do not need to go at this stage to the bank and the fund," Radwan told Reuters, adding Egypt still had the "best relations" with the institutions.

He said Qatar had provided $500 million (£300m) for budgetary support in the past week. "That is a gift," he said, when asked if there were any conditions attached to the Qatari cash.

Egypt's cabinet had approved on June 1 a budget for 2011/12 that increased spending by a quarter to create jobs and help the poor, after the mass protests that ousted long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11.

The IMF had put Egypt's external and fiscal financing gap at about $9 billion to $12 billion (£5.6bn-£7.5bn) for fiscal year 2011/12.