Egypt targets growth rate of 5.8% in next fiscal year: Min.

CAIRO – 18 April 2018: International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimations refer that the growth rate of the Egyptian economy recorded 5.2 percent in the current fiscal year, with expectations of the growth to reach 5.8 percent in the upcoming year, Minister of Finance Amr el-Garhy said.

Garhy said that these percentages matched the government's anticipations, adding that the inflation rate declined to 13.1 percent in March from 35 percent in July 2017.

The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced that the annual consumer price inflation slipped to 13.1 percent in March 2018, compared to 32.5 percent in the same month of 2017.

Garhy said that the unemployment rate decreased to 11.3 percent from 13.5 percent in December 2017, clarifying that the huge projects established by the government provided many temporary and seasonal job opportunities.

Egypt is targeting an unemployment rate of 9.7 percent by the end of 2019; this percentage can be achieved by reaching a growth of 5.8 percent, according to Garhy.

He added that the IMF third review will be in June to find out the evolution of numbers and agreements, in light of the deal with the fund.

Egypt had embarked on a bold economic reform program that included the introduction of taxes, such as the value-added tax (VAT) and cutting energy subsidies, all with the aim of trimming the budget deficit.

The country floated its currency in November 2016 before it clinched a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF Executive Board approved in November 2016 a three-year Extended Fund Facility (EFT) loan to Egypt worth $12 billion to support its economic reform program.

In December 2017, Cairo received the third $2 billion tranche of its loan, bringing total disbursements to $6.08 billion.

The $2 billion fourth tranche will be received by Cairo after concluding the program’s third review in June.

About the spring meetings in Washington, the minister said that the Egyptian delegation will be attending bilateral meetings with various banks.

The 2018 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) will be convened in Washington, DC, from April 20 to April 22.

The meetings will cover issues related to the monetary policy, the economic and social program of the government and the progress made in the Egyptian economic reform program.