Egypt hopes that the economy will grow by 7.5 per cent of GDP in the coming five years, as the Government boosts small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs). Prime Minister Hisham Qandil told a business conference in Cairo yesterday that the economy will be boosted by restoring security and creating new opportunities for investors. The Egyptian economy has been hit hard following the January 25 Revolution, which toppled Hosni Mubarak last year, with nearly $16 billion of investment outflows on political fears. Investors taking part in the Euromoney Egypt conference, being held for the first time since the January 25 Revolution, hope that an economy built on transparency and security will bolster growth. "We also hope that investments will climb to LE276 billion [$45 billion] this year, with LE170 billion of that from the private sector," the Prime Minister said. Qandil added that the Government wants to lower the insurance cost on US dollar treasury bills to 2.1 per cent. "The State budget is expected to total LE533 billion. Governmental investments in the State budget will hit LE56 billion," Finance Minister Mumtaz el-Saeed said. "The Government is still in need of foreign investments of LE170 billion to help fill the gap," el-Saeed explained, adding that the Ministry seeks to cut the budget deficit to LE135 million from the current figure of LE170 billion. To improve the business climate, Minister of Investment Osama Saleh said Egypt will adopt a free trade system that offers more flexibility to investors. Saleh said a plan to attract 123 projects in the agricultural, tourism and manufacturing sector is in the pipeline, without going into details. Roughly 60 per cent of Egypt's 90 million population are under the age of 30, which is a great advantage when it comes to attracting investors, he stressed.
