Egypt's economic growth rate up to 5.6% in 3rd quarter of 2018-2019 FY: min

CAIRO - 8 May 2019: Egypt’s economic growth rate increased to 5.6% during the third quarter of 2018-2019 fiscal year, against 5.4% in the same period of 2017-2018 fiscal year, Minister of Planning Hala el-Saeed said.

The government targets a further rise in the economic growth rate to reach 5.8% during the fourth quarter of the current year, Saeed added in a statement on Wednesday.

Investments and net exports represented 85% of the growth in the first half of 2018-2019 FY compared to 71% in the same period of the past year, Saeed noted.

Significant developments have been observed in several economic indicators, a fact that ensures that the economic reforms in the country are moving on the right track, Saeed said.

Saeed pointed out that public investments hit about EGP 310 billion during the first nine months of 2018-2019 FY with a growth of 19%, noting that governmental investments rose by 26%, registering EGP 90 billion.

The employment rate decreased to 8.9% during the second quarter of FY 2018-2019, compared with about 11.3% in the same period of the past year, she said.

The average annual inflation rate declined to 14% during the first nine months of FY 2018-2019, against 25.6% in the same period of FY 2017-2018, she added.

In addition, foreign exchange flows from major sources rose to about EGP 38.8 billion in the first half of FY 2018-2019, compared with about EGP 36.2 billion in the same period of the past year, with an increase of 7.1%, she further said.