Back to the complete issue
Sunday, 31 May 2020

Egypt could further tweak budget assumptions as covid-19 plays out -FinMin

BUDGET WATCH- FinMin could further tweak budget assumptions as covid-19 plays out: The Finance Ministry is reviewing forecasts used to calculate the draft FY2020-2021 budget to account for recent economic developments caused by the covid-19 pandemic and the dramatic fluctuations of global oil prices, the ministry said in a statement.

More uncertainty ahead: Finance Minister Mohamed Maait outlined earlier this month a worst case scenario that would see the budget deficit widen to 7.8% of GDP if the pandemic continues until the end of the year. The primary surplus and overall debt-to-GDP could similarly fall below target by the end of the next fiscal year in July 2021 if this scenario pans out. Crude prices have also fluctuated wildly: While the ministry originally saw oil averaging USD 66/bbl during the coming fiscal year, Brent prices fell to USD 17/bbl in April before surging back to USD 37 as of Friday.

The ministry also released last week the draft Citizen Budget, an abridged version that highlights social spending and key allocations that directly affect people’s lives. Tap / click here to read the full document (pdf).

You can find all you need to know about key budget figures in our previous coverage (here, here, here, and here).

Enterprise is a daily publication of Enterprise Ventures LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (commercial register 83594), and a subsidiary of Inktank Communications. Summaries are intended for guidance only and are provided on an as-is basis; kindly refer to the source article in its original language prior to undertaking any action. Neither Enterprise Ventures nor its staff assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, whether in the form of summaries or analysis. © 2022 Enterprise Ventures LLC.

Enterprise is available without charge thanks to the generous support of HSBC Egypt (tax ID: 204-901-715), the leading corporate and retail lender in Egypt; EFG Hermes (tax ID: 200-178-385), the leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets; SODIC (tax ID: 212-168-002), a leading Egyptian real estate developer; SomaBay (tax ID: 204-903-300), our Red Sea holiday partner; Infinity (tax ID: 474-939-359), the ultimate way to power cities, industries, and homes directly from nature right here in Egypt; CIRA (tax ID: 200-069-608), the leading providers of K-12 and higher level education in Egypt; Orascom Construction (tax ID: 229-988-806), the leading construction and engineering company building infrastructure in Egypt and abroad; Moharram & Partners (tax ID: 616-112-459), the leading public policy and government affairs partner; Palm Hills Developments (tax ID: 432-737-014), a leading developer of commercial and residential properties; Mashreq (tax ID: 204-898-862), the MENA region’s leading homegrown personal and digital bank; Industrial Development Group (IDG) (tax ID:266-965-253), the leading builder of industrial parks in Egypt; Hassan Allam Properties (tax ID:  553-096-567), one of Egypt’s most prominent and leading builders; and Saleh, Barsoum & Abdel Aziz (tax ID: 220-002-827), the leading audit, tax and accounting firm in Egypt.