Egypt aims to cut its budget deficit to 3.5 per cent of gross domestic product in 2015 and raise the growth rate by that time to 8.5 per cent, the finance minister said in remarks published by newspapers Sunday. Finance Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali has previously said he expected the deficit in the financial year 2010/11 to be 7.9 per cent. Growth in fiscal 2009/10, which runs to June 30, is forecast at 5.3 per cent, rising to 6 per cent in 2010/11. The economy was growing at more than 7 per cent before the world financial crisis but, even during the downturn, Egypt maintained growth close to 5 per cent. Commenting on the minister's targets, investment bank Beltone Financial said in a note: "We do expect the government to be able to achieve its budget target, with maybe a delay of a year or two from its targeted date, depending on the pace with which it implements its fiscal reforms, especially those related to tax, pension and subsidy restructuring." Boutros-Ghali said the target was for growth of 7.55 per cent in 2013, 8.1 per cent in 2014 and 8.5 per cent in 2015, the state-owned daily al-Ahram quoted him as saying. Tax revenues would rise from 163.2 billion Egyptian pounds ($28.9 billion) in the financial year 2008/9 to 408 billion pounds in 2015, the minister was quoted by the business daily al-Alam al-Youm as saying. Total revenues would rise to 525 billion pounds in 2015, from 282.5 billion in the financial year 2008/9, the business daily said. The minister said reforms included starting to convert a sales tax into a value added tax, the daily added. Boutros-Ghali said he aimed to cut government debt to between 44 per cent and 51 per cent of gross domestic product in 2015, down from 80.2 per cent, the paper said.
