Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk held an open dialogue with the business community at the American Chamber of Commerce in Cairo, thanking local and foreign private sector companies operating in Egypt for their confidence.
Kouchouk said the private sector had strongly regained momentum, accounting for 63 per cent of total investments last year. Private investment became the largest contributor to growth, rising 32 per cent in the last financial year after increasing 77 per cent the previous year, he added.
The minister said the private sector was capable of contributing to a more productive, competitive and sustainable national economy.
Foreign direct investment was also performing strongly, Kouchouk said, expressing expectations for further improvement in the coming years as new projects in energy and manufacturing come on stream. He added that the Egyptian economy was improving, with growth accelerating and productive sectors recording solid performance over the past year.
Markets were responding positively, while yields on Egyptian international bonds had improved significantly, the minister said. He also welcomed the strong improvement in the performance of the Egyptian Exchange following recent tax reforms, noting that additional incentives had been introduced to encourage listing and trading, with the aim of attracting major companies to the bourse.
Kouchouk stressed the government’s strong support for the services sector, which he said could achieve rapid and strong growth while creating jobs at a high rate.
He also said tax revenues had recorded significant growth during the year without imposing additional burdens or introducing new taxes, attributing the increase to an expansion of the taxpayer base.
The minister said the government had adopted a path of tax facilitation, simplified procedures and improved services to promote voluntary compliance. He added that this approach would continue through further simplification, facilitation and reduction of burdens to support taxpayers and deliver wider benefits.
