Egypt’s real GDP growth is expected to record 6.2 percent by the end of the current FY2021/22, with an expected 1.2 percent of GDP in primary surplus and 6.2 percent in budget deficit, according to Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait.
Maait made his comments while addressing the annual general meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Egypt that was held on Monday.
The minister added that the coming FY2022/23 is expected to attain a primary surplus at a value of EGP 132 billion (1.5 percent of the GDP) with adequate contingency put in place to mitigate against the impacts of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian War.
He also said that Egypt’s real GDP growth is expected to stabilise at 5.5 percent in the coming FY as a response to the ongoing global challenges; particularly the war in Ukraine and the rising global inflation.
In terms of inflation, Maait noted that Egypt’s inflation entered the double digits zone as of March 2022, when the Russian-Ukrainian conflict broke out, and has been accelerating since then.
Concerning debt levels, the minister explained that debt was affected over the past two years with the COVID-19 pandemic, the impacts of the war in Ukraine, and the rising inflation, with all these challenges pushing the government towards increasing investments and securing more loans to meet its rising financial needs.
In this respect, Maait indicated that Egypt’s debt to GDP ratio is projected to rise to 86 percent by the end of June 2022, up from the 84.6 percent recorded in June 2021, adding that the government is adopting a plan that aims to lower this rate to 75 percent by 2027.
