Egypt: Economy expected to grow 5% this fiscal year

Egypt’s economy may grow nearly 5 percent in the fiscal year that ends in June 2010, Finance Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali said today.

The economy of the most populous Arab country is expected to expand by up to 4.7 percent in the fiscal year that ended in June, compared to 7.2 percent in the previous year, Boutros- Ghali told reporters in Cairo, as the global recession hurt revenue from the Suez Canal and tourism.

Egypt’s economy expanded by just above 7 percent annually for the past three years before the last fiscal year, helped by rising revenue from tourism, the Suez Canal and foreign direct investment.

The government is targeting a budget deficit of 8.5 percent in the current fiscal year, Boutros-Ghali said.

Bloomberg

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Tags: economy, finance, Suez Canal

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