11 Mar 2021

Egypt’s economy grew 2% in 2Q20/21, accelerating from 0.7% the previous quarter, as the tourism sector contracted at a slower pace, Planning Minister Hala el-Saeed said during the cabinet's weekly meeting yesterday. Manufacturing and Suez Canal revenues — which had slumped due to the pandemic — also contracted more slowly than at the height of the pandemic in 1Q2/21, el-Saeed said. Growth during the first half of the fiscal year came in at 1.35%, a significant YoY drop from the pre-Covid 5.6% growth rate recorded in 1H19/20, the minister said. The economy is expected to grow 2.8% this quarter, which wraps on 31 March, and 5.3% in the final quarter of the fiscal year ending 30 June, according to el-Saeed.

Logistics, agriculture, education, and healthcare continued to lead the rebound, achieving positive growth between July 2020 and January 2021, el-Saeed noted. Growth rates in these sectors accelerated YoY after the government eased Covid restrictions in July, she said late last year.

As for inflation, the government expects the annual urban headline rate to average between 4.8% and 6.8% this fiscal year, el-Saeed said, while inflation figures released by state statistics agency Capmas yesterday showed a slight uptick to 4.5% in February from 4.3% in January. (Source: Enterprise)

El-Saeed also said that government investments implemented during 1H20/21 rose by 28% on an annual basis. She said that government investments in Egypt amounted to EGP102bn during the period from July to December of 2020. (Source: Egypt Today)

Another positive indicator that Minister el-Saeed mentioned was that the unemployment rate declined to 7.2% in 2Q20/21, compared with 7.3% in 1Q20/21. El-Saeed said that the rates eased as the economy gradually reopened after strict coronavirus lockdowns as well as some labor-intensive activities. (Source: Amwal Al Ghad)