Egypt’s General Petroleum Corporation (GPC) has confirmed it has been offered a loan in the region of $2 billion by national and international banks. The authority needs financial support to pay off debts accumulated in overseas operations, and to carry out further development projects in the field. Officials have told Arabstoday that two alliance groups led by American investment banks combined with a number of Egyptian banks have approached the oil company. In 2010, number of international banks and 22 Egyptian banks were involved in the bidding process to give GPC a $2bn loan.