Egypt is reaping the benefits of the three-year financial assistance program entered into last November with the IMF (MEES, 18 November 2016). Foreign direct investment (FDI) rose from $6.9bn in 2015-16 to $8.7bn in the 2016-17 financial year (to June 2017). Inflows in the first three months of 2017-18 put it on track to surpass $10bn, according to Investment Minister Sahar Nasr.
This comes as President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi in June ratified a new investment law which is expected to boost FDI by cutting red tape and giving more incentives to investors looking to pump money into Egypt. This meshes with the “key aims” of last year’s IMF deal: “restore investor confidence, reduce inflation to single digits by the end of the program, rebuild international reserves, strengthen public finances and encourage private-sector-led growth.” (CONTINUED - 1857 WORDS)
