The International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its growth forecast for Egypt’s economy this financial year to 2.8%. This forecast matches the lower end of the Egyptian government’s own estimate.
The factors boosted Egypt’s economy in the last three years. These are an upswing in tourism, strong remittances from Egyptian workers abroad and the discovery of natural gas fields. However, since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism slumped, worker remittances have come under threat and the price of gas plummeted.
Despite this, the economy has not suffered, relatively to other nations. The balance in the economy was kept in check by the growth of other sectors. Although, economical collapse is a possibility due to large public debt and gross financing needs, according to Reuters.
The Egyptian government has reallocated spending to support those affected by the pandemic. In March, it rolled out a $6.39 billion stimulus package to support the tourism industry and laborers affected by lockdown measures. Additionally, the central bank had spent $31.95 million from an allocated $1.28 billion to support the stock exchange.
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