Fitch Ratings expects the Egyptian economy to grow by 6% in the next FY: Planning Ministry
19 March 2021
The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development stated in a report issued by it that the credit rating agency "Fitch" expects the Egyptian economy to grow by 6% in the next fiscal year and that the real GDP will grow by 3% during the current fiscal year.
The report added that the recovery of tourism in Egypt and traffic through the Suez Canal will lead to an increase in economic growth to 6% in the fiscal year 21/2022, indicating that inflation in Egypt has continued to decline, and is expected to reach an average of 5% during the fiscal year 20/2021.
The report pointed out that according to "Fitch", the financial and economic reforms undertaken by the Egyptian government support Egypt's classification and prospects, in addition to Egypt's possession of a large economy that was able to maintain stability and flexibility during the global health crisis. Fitch also added that the performance of the Egyptian economy has outperformed the vast majority of countries ranked by it during the past year.
The report of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development also pointed out that the African Development Bank expects the Egyptian economy to grow by 3% during 2021, and the bank indicated that economic growth in Egypt has been characterized by strength and flexibility since the implementation of economic reforms starting from 2016, indicating that Egypt is one of the few African countries that It had expectations to record positive growth in 2020, estimated at 3.6%.
The bank indicated that the Egyptian economy achieved growth at a slower rate than what was achieved in 2019, estimated at 5.6%, but it did not enter a recession thanks to high domestic consumption, and the African Development Bank also made clear that despite the expenditures related to fighting Covid-19, it is expected to continue. The fiscal balance is positive, at a rate of 0.5% of GDP.The ministry's report indicated that the African Development Bank indicated that the mitigation of the financial shock of the Coronavirus pandemic on the Egyptian economy was one of the results of reforms to the public finances, which helped keep the overall fiscal deficit at 8% of GDP unchanged during 2020.The report pointed to the strength of foreign remittances in Egypt, which amounted to 8% of GDP in 2020, explaining that during 2020 inflation fell to 5.7% compared to 13.9% in 2019, which allowed monetary policy to become more adaptive.