Egypt continued to see poor economic growth, with the most recent statistics published by the government this past week revealing that the country's economy grew by only 0.4 percent in the final quarter of 2011. However, the result did give some positive signs that after negative growth in previous quarters, the economy was beginning to bounce back slowly and only by a little. The deputy chairman of parliament's economic committee Abbas Abdel Aziz said this past week in comments published by Reuters, citing official figures, that “the slowdown in the growth rate has been contained, and that is a good indicator for growth. “The growth rate was 0.2 percent in the first quarter of last year. But in the second quarter it rose to 0.4 percent. This is an improvement,” he continued. However, independent observers of Egypt's economy told Bikyamasr.com that overall, the country's economy declined and contracted for the first time in over 45 years. They said the recent report “was a positive sign for Egypt, but a far cry from the 5 and above percentage growth we had before the revolution.” Egypt is also looking for loans in order to fill budget gaps in the country's dole. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have said they would deliver a certain amount of money, as has Saudi Arabia, in an effort to assist Egypt in boosting their economy. In late February, Gerry Rice, the spokesperson for the IMF, stated during a press briefing in Washington, that the foreign exchange reserves have dropped significantly in Egypt, which led to the reduction of the authorities margin to maintain macroeconomic stability. Rice explained that the talks with the Egyptian authorities are ongoing and the IMF is ready to support a national program that includes the necessary action to rebuild confidence and the protection of vulnerable household.” Rice continued, “we do not have the program yet, and therefore will not go into details.” Egypt's Finance Minister Mumtaz El-Saeed said the Egyptian government would sign a memorandum of understanding with the IMF in March for a $3.2 billion loan. It also comes after Egypt reportedly requested a one billion dollar loan from the World Bank in an effort to fill the gaping budget deficit afflicting the country. ** additional reporting by Mohamed Abdel Salam BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/O3d3V Tags: Economy, featured, Growth Section: Business, Egypt, Latest News
