Egypt’s Economy Grew 2.4% In Second Half Of 2012

Egypt’s economy grew 2.4 per cent in the last half of 2012, the government said on Wednesday, citing consumer spending as a main driver for an economy battered by two years of political turmoil.

The Arab world’s most populous economy has struggled to recover since an uprising ousted President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. The unrest drove away tourists and investors.

On Monday, Egypt’s minister for planning and international cooperation said the annual economic growth rate would hit three per cent by the end of June – below the government’s projected four per cent – due to political instability.

The cabinet said in a statement on Wednesday that the economic growth rate was 2.4 per cent in the first half of the 2012/13 fiscal year, which began last July.

It did not give a comparative figure, but earlier said the rate of annual growth for the three months ending in December was 2.5 per cent.

Egypt is seeking a $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), though many economists expect a deal will not be concluded until after parliamentary elections due to get under way in April or May.

Government officials have repeatedly said they expect an IMF delegation to arrive soon to complete talks on the loan, which was agreed in principle in November but postponed in December at Cairo’s behest because of the political turmoil.

The cabinet statement said it expected to complete a revised economic programme “within a few days” for presentation to “the Egyptian and international community” and the IMF, but did not say when it would send it to the international lender.