Egypt's budget deficit narrows to 9.8% in FY 2017/18

CAIRO - 26 July 2018: Egypt’s budget deficit for the 2017-2018 fiscal year was 9.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), down from 10.9 percent the previous year, deputy finance minister Ahmed Kojak said on Thursday.

Egypt achieved a primary fiscal surplus for the first time in 15 years, making 4 billion Egyptian pounds ($224 million), Kojak said in a news conference.

Egypt’s tax revenues increased by 36 percent in fiscal year 2017-2018, to 628 billion Egyptian pounds, he added.

Egypt increased subsidies on fuel to LE 121 billion Egyptian, up from previous projections of LE 110 billion, Kojak said.

The economy has been battered by years of turmoil that began after mass protests in 2011 forced President Hosni Mubarak to step down.

But the country has been showing signs of recovery in recent months amid tough reforms including cuts to energy subsidies implemented by the government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as part of a $12 billion IMF loan agreement.

($1 = LE 17.8500)