CAIRO: The global financial crisis never really hit Egypt and whatever parts of the downturn did arrive to the North African nation were “weathered” with care and ease, said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday in a statement. Although economic growth in the country is expected to fall to around four percent, from around 7 percent over the past few years, the IMF says this shows Egypt has done “relatively well.” According to the IMF, Egypt's economic growth for the fiscal year that ended June 30 is projected to be at around four percent. The IMF said this was expected considering how foreign investors have been hit harder outside the country and have been unable to invest as much capital into new projects in the country. In the IMF statement posted Monday on its website, it said Egypt's fiscal and monetary policies “helped cushion the blow from the world downturn that has affected tourism, Suez Canal revenues and worker remittances.” According to the ministry of tourism, visitors are down a substantial amount this year, but they expect that number to rebound nicely toward the end of 2009 and into the next year. The IMF added that the budget deficit is projected to increase by 22 percent to 8.4 percent of the gross domestic product in the country, but on a bright side, inflation rates fell from 24 percent in August 2008 to 10 percent in June. BM
