Egypt among World's Fastest Growing Economies during Pandemic

The economies of Egypt, Ethiopia, Uganda, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Rwanda and Kenya have all resisted the economic impact of the pandemic to be among the fastest growing economies in the world in 2020.

Bloomberg said in a report that Egypt has been resilient to the impact of the coronavirus with great success to book a place among the 10 fastest growing countries this year, with 1.9% growth.

At least five of the countries in the top 10 list are expected to remain within the  growth club through 2022, according to economists' forecasts.

In 2018, Africa included only three of the best performers and in 2015, it included only four on the list, asserting the success of some countries during the pandemic.

"African economies will probably have outperformed the rest of the world during the coronavirus pandemic. Africa's 54 countries now include seven of the globe's 10 fastest-growing economies, in part because the lethal virus may have improved their competitive advantage as they accelerated their decade-long transformation from exporters of natural resources to hubs of wireless, remotely engaged commerce", Bloomberg said in the report.

"The transition to technology-driven, 21st-century business in a region where people are younger than anywhere else is reflected in the changing landscape of the 1,300 publicly traded companies that make up corporate Africa. Communications firms have become a robust presence, making up 29% of the total market capitalization of the continent in 2020 compared to 13% a decade earlier," Bloomberg added.

"Materials and energy, the region's benchmarks since colonial times, declined to 23% from 34% during the same period," the report pointed out.

"Nigeria has had the world's best-performing shares this year. Among the world's 93 major equity markets, the Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index of 153 companies was No. 1 with a 27% total return," according to data.

Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said earlier this month that the Egyptian economy has succeeded in maintaining its resilience in the face of the corona crisis repercussions due to adequate economic reforms overtaken in the past few years.

He pointed out that Egypt is the only country in the Middle East and Africa that maintained the confidence of international rating agencies,  specifically, Standard & Poor’s (S&P), Moody’s and Fitch, during the difficult period of the pandemic.