Egypt saves $11B after trade balance falls to $29B: Minister

CAIRO – 27 July 2017: Egypt saved $11 billion after the trade balance decreased from $40 billion to $29 billion for the first time, Minister of Planning Hala al-Saeed said in press statement Thursday.

The minister added that the foreign constituent in the local industry declined from 70 percent to 40 percent, which led to lower annual imports.

Egypt's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is projected to reach 4 percent for the fiscal year 2016/17, despite steps taken in the economic reform program, Saeed said earlier.

Saeed noted earlier that the economic indicators for the first nine months of FY 2016/17 were positive, as the growth rate recorded 4.3 percent, compared to 3.6 percent in the same quarter of 2015/2016 fiscal year.

The government targets reducing the unemployment rate from 12 percent to 8 percent by 2025, the minister said.

The initial budget deficit in the FY 2016/17 ranges between 10.4 and 10.5 percent of the GDP, compared to 12.5 percent in the FY 2015/16.