13 institutional investment firms with in excess of USD1.5 trillion in AUMs gather with
His Excellency on Egypt’s reform program
Egypt’s Minister of Finance, His Excellency Amr El-Garhy, participated in a roundtable
discussion hosted by CI Capital in the UK on 18 October. The meeting included 13
leading global institutional investment firms with assets under management (AUMs)
totaling cUSD1.5 trillion. El-Garhy outlined key achievements of the government’s reform
program, realized less than a year since being launched, stressing the importance of
currency market stability and the overall direction of a lower budget deficit and inflation.
The government’s budget deficit is targeted at 9.5% during FY17/18, a decline of 1.4%
versus last year. But the Minister also stated that the government intends this to fall by
an annual 1.2% through continued fiscal reform. Tax revenues have improved
significantly, reaching EGP600 billion this year, and the Ministry of Finance intends to
continue developing policies to expand the tax base, and in the near future, encourage
the parallel economy to join the system.
During the roundtable, the Minister announced plans to issue USD3bn in international
bonds during 1Q 2018, in addition to a potential 1 billion Euro-denominated bond
issuance in light of trade relations with the EU.
His Excellency also expressed his optimism that Egypt’s inflation rate should decrease by
the beginning of next year in addition to achieving GDP growth of 5% during the current
fiscal year. The government also plans to sustain GDP growth of 6% within the next 10
years as part of a longer-term program approved last year.
