Egypt budget highlights 2018-19: Plans and prospects

It’s budget season again, with stimulating growth, boosting revenues, cutting energy subsidies and boosting social spending and investment being the highlights of the 2018-19 budget, as outlined by Minister of Finance Amr Al-Garhi to MPs early this week.

With spending estimated at LE1.4 trillion and revenue targets of around LE990 billion, the government will not have it easy, but it is aiming high.

It is targeting a growth rate of 5.8 per cent of GDP and cuts in the unemployment rate to between 10 and 11 per cent. It hopes to reduce the budget deficit to 8.4 per cent of GDP in 2018/2019 and achieve a primary surplus of two per cent of GDP and reduce public debt to 91 to 92 per cent of GDP. It seeks to achieve a 10 per cent inflation rate.