Standard and Poor’s (S&P) has kept Egypt’s credit rating in domestic and hard currencies at level B, maintaining a stable outlook for the second time in six months in 2020.
Egyptian Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said Saturday that S&P’s rating is a sign of the continued confidence of international institutions, especially credit rating ones, in the Egyptian economy’s strength and ability to positively deal with all repercussions of the coronavirus.
In a statement, he explained that the government continues to implement the required financial, economic and monetary reforms to improve the business environment, ensure the sustainability of public financial indicators and enhance the Egyptian economy’s ability to grow and create productive job opportunities.
S&P maintaining the credit rating of Egypt for the second time this year reflects its excellent and balanced economic performance compared to other peer countries, Maait said.
This is in addition to the ability of the Egyptian economy to finance its needs in local and foreign currencies despite the negative repercussions of coronavirus globally.
The ranking also showcases the effectiveness of the economic and financial policies adopted by the government, especially in dealing with the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic, which has largely contributed to maintaining the stability of the nation’s economic and financial conditions compared to other emerging economies.
Maait noted that the successes of the economic policies is proven as the Egyptian economy continues to achieve positive growth rates of about 3.6 percent in 2019/2020.
The government is working to continue pushing the pace of economic reform by adopting a package of structural reforms to enhance growth rates and private sector participation in economic activities, strengthen the governance system, and improve the business climate and environment, he said.
S&P predicts the Egyptian economy to achieve positive growth rates even with the coronavirus at a rate of 2.5 percent in 2020/2021, despite estimates of the expected negative global growth during the current fiscal year as well as the negative growth rates estimated for most countries.
Maait said that S&P also expects the Egyptian economy to return to strong growth rates of up to 5.4 percent by 2022 with the recovery of tourism activity, the return of strong growth in the energy and manufacturing sectors, and an improvement in the business environment due to the completion of structural reforms.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
