Egypt’s growth tops expectations

Egypt’s economic growth rate in fiscal year 2016/17 beat government expectations, reaching 4.1 percent, while the budget deficit was 10.9 percent of GDP compared with 12.5 percent the previous year. Planning Minister Hala al-Said said the economic growth rate reached 4.9 percent in the last quarter of the fiscal year, which ended in late June. That brought the annual economic growth rate to 4.1 percent. The min-