Cairo - Mubasher: HSBC Bank expects the Egyptian economy to achieve a GDP growth of 4.2% by 2018, according to a recent report.
“We have raised our growth forecasts for 2018, though next year’s recovery remains contingent on policymakers delivering on adjustments this year,” the report stated.
The bank said that boosting growth, employment, productivity, and welfare are contingent on more immediate measures to rebalance public finances and Egypt’s external accounts.
“Without bringing an end to the distortions that emerged in the foreign exchange market since the revolution or stabilising public debt, we see little prospect of prices stabilising or activity returning to its pre-revolution levels,” the bank added.
HSBC also said that for the Egyptian economy, this is the year of rebalancing, not the year of recovery.
The Egyptian Ministry of Finance (MoF) estimates the total budget deficit for fiscal year 2016/2017 to reach EGP 319.46 billion compared to an actual deficit of EGP 339.5 billion in the year before.
The Egyptian Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) said in a recent report that trade deficit declined in December 2016 by 40.5% to EGP 2.38 billion, compared to EGP 4 billion in December 2015.
The CAPMAS’ recent data also showed that the inflation rate or the consumer price index in Egypt grew by nearly 30% year-on-year in January.
