Egypt

The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) is one of the oldest stock markets in the Middle East and dates back to 1883. It includes the main market, an over-the-counter market, and the Nile Stock Exchange (Nilex) for small and medium-sized enterprises.

In November 2016 the executive board of the IMF approved a three-year, $12bn loan under an extended fund facility (EFF) to assist with Egypt’s economic reform strategy. The liberalisation of the exchange rate, elimination of the parallel market and the stability of the Egyptian pound were crucial goals of the EFF programme. Moreover, several...

Attempts by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to boost lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) dates back more than a decade. The Access to Finance initiative was one of the pillars of the second Egyptian banking reform plan – which was in effect over the 2008-11 period – and introduced the idea of exempting banks from a portion of...

Fiscal policy plays a vital role in creating and nurturing sustainable and inclusive growth. This is because we need fiscal space for spending on health, education, social protection and public investment, which are all key priorities in the Arab world. Unfortunately, this region has yet to fully recover from the global financial crisis and...

Since the election of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi in 2014, Egypt’s economic policy has been centred on reducing public sector costs and boosting private sector growth. Five years later, the issue of revitalising private enterprise remains prominent. In a 2018 assessment of the challenges and opportunities facing the country, the IMF...