The government is expecting GDP growth in the current fiscal year to reach 4%, falling short of the original pre-float target of 5.2% target for FY2016-17, Finance Minister El Garhy said at a conference on Tuesday. Projected tax revenues will also fall short of expectations, rising only 0.5%-0.6% this year because the value-added tax (VAT) was imposed later than planned. El Garhy is hopeful that tax revenue will rise from 12.7% of GDP to 17-18% within three years, Al Mal reported. After previously blaming it on tourism, Planning Minister Ashraf El Araby said yesterday that the Ismail government’s reform agenda played a role in slower-than-expected growth. The government will revise its targets, but is still aiming to keep the budget deficit target at below 10% of GDP, El Araby told Al Borsa.

Speaking on the EGP 5 bn Amlak sovereign wealth fund, interest from the GCC appears to have piqued, El Araby says, particularly from the UAE, Kuwait, and Saudi, with whom negotiations have already begun. We’re taking that last bit with a grain of salt: We can see UAE interest, but rather doubt there’s much KSA interest in investing in or alongside an Egyptian SWF vehicle given the present state of relations.