REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, CAIRO/LONDON - Western advisers are drawing up plans for reshaping the Egyptian economy, sources said, with the apparent blessing of president-elect Abdel Fattah al-Sisi who so far has spoken only vaguely in public about reviving the state's finances.

The driving force behind the consulting project was the United Arab Emirates, which along with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait has showered Egypt with billions of dollars in aid since Sisi removed the Muslim Brotherhood from power last year, sources familiar with the exercise and businessmen told Reuters.

If Egypt were to accept reforms proposed by US consultancy Strategy& and international investment bank Lazard, this could be used as a basis for reopening talks on a loan deal with the International Monetary Fund which ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi failed to seal, unwilling to impose unpopular reforms.

Gulf allies opposed to the Muslim Brotherhood have extended a lifeline exceeding 12 billion USD in cash and petroleum products to help Egypt stave off economic collapse. The hiring of Lazard and Strategy& - formerly called Booz & Company - suggests the Gulf states want to ensure aid is spent efficiently in a country where past leaders with military backgrounds have often mismanaged the economy.

"UAE are involved in the process, as they are among the country’s lenders. Lending money is not enough in itself. You also need to make sure the government has the means to identify what needs to change and execute it," said one of the sources familiar with the situation.

An IMF deal could help to inspire confidence among foreign investors who have been unnerved by three years of turmoil and a range of other problems ranging from costly energy subsidies to a lack of transparency in economic management.

It's unclear if Sisi, who stood down as military chief in March before winning a presidential election last month, has met the Western consulting companies. But advisers to the man who has been de facto leader of Egypt since Mursi's fall have almost certainly been closely involved in the project, which has been underway for several months.

The discussions are the strongest indication that Sisi may restructure an economy suffering from corruption, red tape, high unemployment and a widening budget deficit aggravated by the fuel subsidies that cost nearly 19 billion USD a year.

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