S&P maintains Egypt credit rating at B

Cairo, The Gulf Observer: Standard and Poor’s (S&P) has maintained Egypt’s foreign and local currency credit ratings at B level with a “stable outlook” for the second time in three months.

In a press statement Egyptian Finance Minister Mohamed Maait hailed S&P’s decision, saying it reflects the international institutions’ confidence in the Egyptian economy and its resilience.

The decision shows trust that the Egyptian economy has the ability to deal positively with local and international extraordinary economic conditions last year that were affected by the repercussions of the war in Europe and the coronavirus pandemic, Maait said.

The decision also shows that Egypt managed to deal with international conditions with balanced and integrated ways to ensure stability of the economic conditions, Maait said.

He added that the Egyptian economy’s future is stable in light of commitment to the pace of economic reforms backed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under a 48-month agreement.

He added that Egypt is implementing a national economic reform program to ensure economic stability and boost the Egyptian economy’s competitiveness.

In its recent report issued on Thursday, S&P report said Egypt will continue to enjoy financial stability in the current fiscal year in light of what was achieved over the past years.

He cited a drop in total deficit to 6.1 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) compared to 6.8 percent of the GDP in the 2020-2021 fiscal year.

The ministry continued to realize initial surplus for the fifth straight year at 1.3 percent of the GDP in the 2021-2022 fiscal year, he said.

The report hailed the government’s efforts to rationalize spending and expand social protection programs to alleviate the impact of the international crisis.

S&P expected the average growth rate to reach 4 percent annually in the coming three years, the minister said.

He added that the S&P report referred to a noticeable improvement in the trade balance indexes of the 2021-2022 fiscal year.

Non-petroleum exports rose by 29 percent, he said, noting that a huge surplus was registered in the petroleum balance at $4.4 billion.

The Suez Canal revenues hit a historical record at $7 billion and are expected to reach $8 billion in 2023, he said, noting that the tourism sector’s revenues ratcheted up last year to register $10.7 billion.

The foreign direct investments shot up by 71 percent to record $9.1 billion against $5.2 billion dollars in 2020-2021.