EBRD expects Egypt's economy to grow 4.2% in 2021

CAIRO – 29 June 2021: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) expected the Egyptian economy to grow by 4.2 percent in 2021, and 5.2 percent in 2022.

EBRD stated in a report that Egypt is one of the few countries that announced recording economic growth during 2020.

According to EBRD's report, it predicted that growth would decline during the fiscal year 2020/2021 to reach 2.5 percent, with expectations that it would rise during the new fiscal year 2021/2022 to reach 4.5 percent.

The Egyptian economy recorded a growth of 1.9 percent during the current fiscal year 2020/2021, it referred, clarifying that this growth is driven mainly by improvements in wholesale and retail trade, agriculture, telecommunications, and construction, offset by a slowdown in manufacturing activity and weaker tourism income.

It expected that the telecommunications sector will continue to grow, and that the decrease in unemployment rates will contribute to supporting the movement of consumption and private investment.

It foresaw that foreign direct investment flows will recover, while the risks include slow vaccination operations, weak expectations for the tourism sector, and slowing momentum in major investment projects.

For the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has raised its forecast for economic growth to 3.5 percent in 2021.

This return to growth comes on the heels of a 2.1 percent drop in GDP in 2020, but the bank warned that the speed of the recovery may differ from one economy to another, reflecting the slow recovery in tourism, mounting financial pressures, and political uncertainty in all over the region.

As for 2022, economists at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development expect continued economic growth in the region at 4.6 percent, provided that this is accompanied by the implementation of structural reforms, the recovery of foreign investment, and an improvement in trade.