Economy may grow by 4%

EGYPT economy is expected to grow 4 percent in the 2016/ 17 fiscal year ending in June, broadly in line with the finance minister’s latest projection of 3.8 to 4 percent, a poll showed, predicting that. The poll predicted that economic growth would slow the following year to 3.3 percent, well below the government’s target of 4.8 percent laid out in the budget, before accelerating to 4 percent in 2018/19, according to the median of 11 economists. The forecasts showed that annual growth was expected to remain significantly below the roughly 7 percent recorded before the 2011 political uprising that led to the overthrow of president Hosni Mubarak and scared off tourists and foreign investors. The government has announced a slew of reforms including a currency float, fuel subsidy cuts and a value-added tax in an effort to bolster the economic recovery and secure a $12 billion (R160bn) loan from the International Monetary Fund. The pound currency has depreciated by roughly half since currency controls were lifted in November, leading to a surge in inflation. – Reuters