Click here to read our EgyptEconomic Report and Investment Analysis 2022 online …
Egypt’s varied history, straddling multiple geopolitical and economic spheres, continues to shape the country’s development. However, this does not come without challenges. Food security uncertainty stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 is a particular headwind, in combination with associated issues like inflation and foreign exchange risk. Moreover, 29.7% of Egyptians sti
While the current constitution dates from 2014, Egypt became a presidential republic in 1952. Under a presidential republic, the president – who serves as the head of state – selects the Cabinet and the prime minister; Mostafa Madbouly has occupied the role of the latter since 2018. The president is elected by an absolute majority of voters and initially serves a four-year term, which, conventionally,…
Despite a successful economic reform programme implemented in 2016, Egypt continues to grapple with a fiscal deficit. In FY 2019/20 Egypt recorded a deficit of LE462.8bn ($29.4bn), the highest since the start of the 2016 reform initiatives. While this figure contracted to LE432.1bn ($27.5bn) in FY 2020/21, it is forecast to expand to LE475.5bn ($30.2bn) in FY 2021/22, according to a December 20201…
Egypt was one of the few economies to witness positive GDP growth in the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, fuelled in part by strong consumer spending. According to a November 2021 report from Fitch Solutions, real household spending expanded by around 7% in both 2020 and 2021 – despite the widespread impact of the pandemic, which hit key sectors such as tourism particularly hard. This performance…
Etiquette It is integral to Egyptian culture to be courteous to foreigners. A conversation, whether business-related or not, is usually accompanied by coffee, tea or juice. Social rules dictate the appropriate way to greet people in business meetings. Close friends of the same sex will sometimes greet with a kiss on each cheek, although a handshake is also common. While it is inadvisable to drink…
Egypt is at the geographic centre of the MENA region, with a well-documented history that has seen it accumulate knowledge and wealth over millennia. It has leveraged the fertile soils of the Nile Delta and its location along global trade routes through the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, as well as the strategically important Suez Canal, completed in the mid-19th century. This varied history, straddling…
Egypt’s economy proved resilient during the Covid-19 pandemic, supported by structural changes associated with an ambitious economic reform programme in the years leading up to the crisis. The country was the only one in the MENA region to record positive GDP growth in 2020, reflective of the government’s emphasis on facilitating business continuity and targeting social support with health measures…
Egypt’s legal framework outlines restrictions on foreign investment only in specific sectors. These include commercial agencies (which require 100% local ownership), import firms (51% local ownership) and certain activities that require regulatory approvals – irrespective of the nationality of the investor – such as banking and insurance. Companies operating in the Sinai Peninsula must also be…
