Investment Minister Ashraf Salman said that Egypt is targeting a GDP growth rate of 4.5-4.7% in the first quarter of 2015-2016, Albawaba reported. Egypt also aims to attract $2 billion in foreign direct investments in 1Q15/16, Salman added. The government estimates the economy will have grown 4.3% in Fiscal Year 2014/15, with $7.5 billion in FDI, up from $4.1 billion a year earlier, the minister said. A ministry of planning report stated that economic growth slowed to 3% year-over-year in 1Q2015 (3Q2014/15), without giving further details. Growth rates had slowed down from 4.3% and 6.8% in the two preceding quarters, respectively. “We expect GDP growth to remain unchanged in FY2015/16 at 4.5%, as accelerating investment growth is offset by decelerating consumption,” Mohamed Abu Basha, an economist at EFG-Hermes, wrote in the research note. “Investment growth is likely to pick up more towards the second half of the fiscal year, as more infrastructure projects enter the execution phase,” he added.
