The head of the International Monetary Fund is in Egypt to discuss an urgently-needed financial aid package for the country's struggling economy. Christine Lagarde will meet President Mohammed Mursi and his new cabinet. The Egyptian Finance Minister Mumtaz al-Said has said Cairo will be looking for a loan of 4.8 billion dollar, up from the 3.2 billion dollar that has been mooted since last year. It is needed to cover budget deficits resulting from shrinking tourism and foreign investment revenues. Egypt's foreign reserves have fallen to well under half the levels seen before last year's popular uprising against former President Hosni Mubarak, when the central bank started to sell dollars to prop up the Egyptian pound. The government is facing a balance of payments crisis and high borrowing costs.