Moody's expects the Egyptian economy to grow by 5.5% this year

The "Moody's" credit rating agency expected the Egyptian economy to achieve strong growth rates of about 5.5% during the current fiscal year, compared to 2.8% last fiscal year, driven by a positive and high contribution Expected from several sectors such as the technology and communications sector, health and government services, wholesale and retail, and agriculture.

The Foundation also expected that the contribution of the tourism, aviation, manufacturing, and construction sectors to economic growth would also be positive, with the gradual easing of restrictions on travel and global trade movement.

Mohamed Maait, the Egyptian Minister of Finance, said that Moody's decision to fix Egypt's credit rating in both local and foreign currencies as it is without modification at the "B2" level, while maintaining On the stable future outlook of the Egyptian economy, it reflects the continued confidence of international institutions, especially credit rating institutions, in the solidity of the Egyptian economy and its ability to deal positively and resiliently with the “Corona” crisis, unlike peer and emerging economies.

The minister added that the decision also reflects Moody's confidence in the ability of the Egyptian economy to overcome external and internal shocks resulting from the pandemic, and explained that the agency's decision to maintain the rating The credit rating for Egypt for the third time in a row during the pandemic period represents a continuous consolidation of the balance of confidence generated, due to the economic and financial reforms implemented during the past years.

He pointed out that the decision to stabilize Egypt's credit rating was taken at a time when Moody's downgraded the credit rating or made a negative adjustment to the future outlook of more than 50% of the country. African and Middle Eastern countries.

Moody's forecast that debt as a percentage of GDP would decline to about 84% of GDP by 2024, supported by continued primary surpluses and increased growth, he said. According to estimates, the debt strategy will continue to be implemented efficiently in the medium term, starting from the 2021-2022 fiscal year, extending the life of the debt to nearly 4 years, which contributes to reducing the financing needs of the public budget to less than 30% of GDP, according to estimates. institution, which will be reflected in reducing debt service costs.