Egypt Targets 5.7% Growth in 2022/23 Budget

The Egyptian Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait indicated that the new draft budget targets a growth rate of 5.7% of GDP during the FY2022/23, and gradually rising to 6% in 2024/25.

Maait pointed out that the country aims to achieve a primary surplus of 2% at the medium level, reduce the total deficit to 6.1% in the FY2022/23, and 5.1% in 2024/25, bringing the debt-to-GDP ratio down to less than 90% in the FY2022/23, and to 82.5% by June 2025.

The minister added that government aims at reducing the debt service ratio of total budget expenditures to less than 30% compared to the target of 31.5% during the FY2021/22, as well as extending the debt duration to approach 5 years in the medium term instead of 3 years at present  by expanding the issuance of various medium and long-term government bonds, and targeting new instruments such as sukuk, and green bonds.

These instruments would help expand the investor base and attract additional liquidity to the government securities market, in a way that helps reduce the cost of debt, he stressed.

Mohamed Maait, the Egyptian Minister of Finance confirmed that, in implementation of presidential directives, the draft budget for the fiscal year 2022/23 will witness greater spending on improving people's lives and facilitating decent livelihoods.

Maait said in a statement today that the priority in the "new republic" will be for effective programs in health and education. They are the mainstay of building the Egyptian person, strengthening the pillars of investment in human capital, in addition to maximizing development efforts in various fields.

The Egyptian minister stressed that public investments will be expanded; in a manner that contributes to raising the efficiency of basic services, by proceeding with the completion of the largest project in the history of Egypt for rural development “a decent life” and raising the standard of living for 60% of Egyptians, in a way that enables citizens to benefit from the fruits of economic growth, in a just sustainable and comprehensive manner, creating more productive employment opportunities, while continuing to expand the social protection network; to become more targeted to the poorest classes.

The minister added that the draft budget for the new fiscal year aims to move forward in enhancing the movement of economic activity, in light of the Corona pandemic, by carrying out broad structural reforms in various fields, in a way that contributes to pushing the private sector to lead the locomotive of economic growth, and helps in the localization of industry. Increasing productivity, deepening the local component, and stimulating exports, so as to maximize efforts to create an investment climate, encourage investors, and overcome obstacles, in a way that supports the expansion of productive activities, attention to small and medium enterprises, manufacturing industries, and the expansion of the use of clean sustainable energy sources.