Egypt's industrial growth rate has increased by 3.5% during the first nine months of the fiscal year (FY) 2013/2014, compared to 2.5% for the same time last year, according to Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour. In a statement issued Monday, Abdel Nour said: "A number of positive economic indicators have been observed in addition to a number of booms over the past few months, according to data from the Ministry of Planning. These indicators confirm the continuous recovery taking place within the Egyptian economy, due especially to the commitment to implementing the road map and building state institutions." "Industrial growth rose from 1.6% to 2.1% and then 6.9% for the first three quarters of FY 2013/2014," Abdel Nour said. He pointed to the increase in the real growth rate of GDP throughout the third quarter (Q3) of FY 2013/2014 to 2.5%, up from 1.3% in Q2 and 1% in Q1 of this year. He added: "Industrial investments have experienced a boom as well, and by the ninth month of FY 2013/2014, approximately EGP 30bn in investments were reported, compared to EGP 19.4bn for the same period last year. This represents an increase of 55%." According to Abdel Nour, the government has observed a significant increase in the size of direct foreign investment throughout the past months, and $4.7bn in investments were recorded for the first 9 months of FY 2013/2014, compared to approximately $2.48bn for the same period last year, an increase of 89%. He added: "Comparing Q3 to Q2 of FY 2013/2014, we find an increase from $2.8bn to $4.7bn, representing a 68% growth rate."
