Cairo plans to spend E£30bn ($4.35bn) in a second stimulus package to be launched in January, Finance Minister Ahmad Jalal announced on 16 December. The first E£29.7bn ($4.3bn) package was unveiled in August, shortly after the ousting of former Islamist president Muhammad Mursi. It contained E£20.1bn ($2.9bn) for government investments and E£9.6bn ($1.4bn) for subsidies, grants, wages and pensions (MEES, 25 October).
Dr Jalal says the second package will be financed from cuts elsewhere and from the $12bn Gulf aid pledged by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE in early July. The minister adds that the first stimulus did not tap into the $12bn. The second package will allocate E£20bn for investments and the balance for adjusting public sector minimum wage due to start in January. (CONTINUED - 286 WORDS)
