Budget deficit for first quarter (Q1) of fiscal year (FY) 2017/18 decreased by two per cent of GDP, the Finance Ministry’s monthly bulletin stated on Wednesday.
The deficit during the last three months (from September 2017) registered LE 85.3 billion; it amounted to LE 76.8 billion during the corresponding period of 2016.
Egypt’s fiscal year begins in July and ends in June.
The state deficit budget was announced to have decreased by 1.7 percent of GDP during the period from July to August of FY 2017/18.
Earlier, Finance Minister Amr El-Garhy stated that the government aims to reduce the budget deficit by between 1 and 1.5 percent with a long-term decrease of between four and five percent by 2022.
Egypt is implementing sweeping reforms that include cutting subsidies and raising taxes that the government hopes will lure back foreign investors.
In November 2016, Egypt signed a $12 billion three-year International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan agreement. The government has so far received an initial $4 billion tranche of its IMF loan. The Finance Minister said the country will receive the $2 billion second disbursement in December.
