Garhy displays economic progress with AmCham ‘Door Knock’

CAIRO – 26 February 2018: Minister of Finance Amr al-Garhy displayed the progress of the Egyptian economy in his meeting with "Door Knock" delegation members that was organized by the American Trade Chamber (AmCham) in Cairo.

The minister's statements came to encourage further enhancement of the American investments in Egypt as well as further increase in the trade exchange between the two countries.

Garhy said that Egypt took several steps in the financial and legislative sectors in order to achieve comprehensive and sustainable reforms of the national economy.

He further clarified that in terms of financial reforms the government liberalized the exchange rate to reduce inflation, approved and implemented the VAT law, started the development and implementation of a smart system for electronic payment and collection of financiers and introduced the electronic tax filing service.

The Ministry of Finance announced that Egypt succeeded in issuing Eurobonds worth $4 billion on three tranches; three, five and 30 years.

The purchase requests exceeded $12 billion in the first few hours after the issuance despite the volatility of the international stock markets, Garhy added.

He continued his speech by saying that the foreign investment increased to $20 billion which confirmed the trust of foreign investors in the Egyptian economy.

Garhy also noted that The International Monetary Fund (IMF) praised Egypt's positive steps in its reform program, adding that three reviews have been made so far for the implementation of the program which affirmed the success of the economic program.

The minister added that the credit rating agencies also praised Egypt's positive efforts. Credit Rating Institutions raised Egypt’s outlook from stable to positive, which promises the possibility of raising Egypt's credit rating in the coming months.

He pointed out that Egypt aims to decline the foreign debt from 41 percent in fiscal year 2016/2017 to 35 percent by the end of this fiscal year to reach 30 percent in 2018/2019.

He also referred to the huge progress in the energy sector especially after the discovery of Zohr gas field.

In 2015, Italian energy company Eni discovered Egypt’s giant Zohr gas field, which is expected to save Egypt some $1 billion annually in gas imports.

Furthermore, Minister Garhy affirmed that a simplified system has been completed to account taxes for small and micro projects, and that the government is working on adding them to the economy by simplifying the procedures and legislation governing economic activity to increase the income of workers and the volume of domestic investment.

Trade Minister Tarek Kabil said Saturday in his meeting with a delegation from the American Chamber that the bilateral trade between Egypt and the U.S stood at $5.61 billion in 2017, compared to $4.97 billion in 2016, marking a 13 percent increase.

On Saturday, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry also met with a delegation from the AmCham as part of preparations for the "Door Knock" mission.

The "Door Knock" delegation will start their 5-day trip to the United States in March to enhance the American investment in Egypt; the delegation includes 35 Egyptian companies.