Egypt's Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali said yesterday that the government expects economic growth to shrink seriously because of the global economic crisis. Speaking yesterday at the American University in Cairo, he said all interactions with the world would be heavily affected, adding that Egyptian exports, tourism, Suez Canal revenues and remittances from abroad would all go down. He added that the government expected economic growth in Egypt to shrink, but he did not give any details. At the same time, the minister said ministry planners expected inflation to slow down to less than 10% in two months or so, making it clear that inflationary pressure in the Egyptian economy has disappeared. Meanwhile, an official at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expected economic growth in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries to stand at 3.5% (down from 6.8% and 5.3% in 2008 and 2007 respectively) due to the decrease of crude oil prices. The IMF Middle East and Central Asia Department Director, Masood Ahmed, said oil exports in the region would go down from $584 billion in 2008 to $298 billion in 2009, while governments' revenues should decrease from $460 billion in 2008 to $257 billion in 2009. Mr. Ahmed, though, expected inflation to stand at 3.6% in 2009, compared to 10.68% in 2008, according to the IMF. In London, Chancellor of Exchequer Alistair Darling said the British Treasury would launch an investigation into the allowances granted to some bank cadres, as major British banks have received money from a private fund to counter the lack of liquidity. Among these banks is the Royal Bank of Scotland, which got £1 billion in public funds. Administrative cadres of banks which have been helped by the government may have received large bonuses and this has raised a lot of indignation in Britain. According to a newspaper, the Royal Bank of Scotland intended to pay some £1 billion in incentives to its cadres in spite of the current turbulent situation.
