Egypt’s account deficit narrows
CAIRO: Egypt’s current account deficit for the last quarter of 2019 narrowed to $3.19 billion from $3.25 billion in the same quarter of 2018, according to central bank data released.
Remittances from Egyptians working abroad increased to $6.97 billion from $6.14 billion, while tourism revenue climbed to $3.06 billion from $2.86 billion. The trade deficit rose to $9.92 billion from $9.44 billion in 2019.
Tourism had gradually been recovering since 2011 and enjoying record-high revenue in 2019.
Suez Canal revenue rose to $1.52 billion during the fourth quarter of 2019 from $1.49 billion a year earlier. Foreign direct investment edged down to $2.61 billion from $2.77 billion, while net portfolio investment surged to $2.26 billion from a negative $2.65 billion in the last quarter of 2018.
The recent figures, however, date to before the global coronavirus outbreak that has since brought tourism in Egypt to a virtual halt.
Reuters calculated the figures by subtracting third quarter figures released earlier by the central bank from those for the last half of the calendar year.
Meanwhile the Egypt’s private airlines companies appealed to the civil aviation minister to intervene to stop the losses of the companies amid the coronavirus crisis. “The chairmen of the companies called upon the minister of aviation to intervene to stop the bleeding of losses suffered by the private companies and help them overcome this crisis,” a statement posted on the civil aviation ministry Facebook page said.
Minister Mohammad Manar Enabah met on Tuesday with a number of chairmen of boards of directors and representatives of Egyptian private airlines companies to discuss the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the private aviation sector in the light of suspending flights from and to Egypt, the statement added.