Egypt

For many years, one of the greatest challenges Egypt has faced has been providing housing for its growing, youthful population. Indeed, the lack of decent housing for those in the lower- to middle-income bracket is thought to have been one of the triggers of last year’s revolution. The newly installed government, headed by Mohammad Morsy, is likely to make the housing shortfall a priority.

These may be tough times for the Egyptian economy, but healthy long-term fundamentals and sound monetary policy bode well for the future. Indeed, the decision by Egypt’s central bank to keep rates on hold is a clear sign of its policy of prioritising growth in 2012.

Banks may have to adopt a policy of caution over the coming months, waiting to see how the dust settles from Egypt’s long-running political turmoil and how the installation of Mohammed Morsi as head of state will affect the economy and their business.

With a large domestic market and a substantial local manufacturing base, Egypt’s auto retail sector is one of the largest in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Sales have been hit by the recent political instability and economic slowdown, but pent-up demand is expected to help the recovery accelerate from its currently sluggish pace. This will have a knock-on effect for the manufacturing sector, which is gearing up for resurgence.

Retailers in Egypt are keeping their fingers crossed for a broader stabilisation of the country’s economic and political scenes, following several months of upheaval and uncertainty that has dampened overall consumption.

As the world’s largest wheat importer, Egypt is increasing its domestic grain production, in a bid to reduce its dependency on volatile international markets and to meet rising demand from its 85m people, but with rising production unlikely to satisfy domestic consumption, import volumes are expected to rise in the coming three years.