Egypt to reach growth rate of 5.5% in 2019: IMF

CAIRO – 9 October 2018: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expected Tuesday Egypt’s economy to record a growth rate of 5.3 percent in 2018 and 5.5 percent in 2019, compared to 4.2 percent in 2017.

IMF forecasted in a report released in Bali, Indonesia on the sidelines of the autumn meetings of the IMF and the World Bank that the growth rate in Egypt will hit 6 percent in 2023.

IMF added that the level of sound foreign reserves and the flexible exchange rate make the Egyptian economy well positioned to manage any acceleration in foreign inflows.
The report also stressed the need to maintain sound macroeconomic frameworks and implement consistent policies to maintain macroeconomics.

The report entitled “The World Economic Outlook - October 2018” attributed these results to the rise of neutral gas production, the recovery of tourism sector, as well as the continued improvement of the confidence of the global business community in Egypt’s economy as a result of the implemented economic reforms.

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

Regarding inflation, the report expected the rate to decline to 20.9 percent in 2018, compared to 23.5 percent in 2017, anticipating it to reach 14 percent in 2019 and 7 percent in 2023.

The current account deficit would reach about 2.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) compared to a deficit of 6.3 percent in 2017 and it would continue to decline to 2.4 percent in 2019 and 1.2 percent in 2023, according to the report.

The report also predicted that unemployment rate will drop to 10.9 percent in 2018 from 12.2 percent in the previous year and will continue to fall to 9.9 percent in 2019.

The autumn meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group began in Bali, Indonesia on Monday, Oct. 8 and will continue until October 14, in the presence of Egypt’s Finance Minister Mohammad Ma’it and Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr.