Egypt’s budget deficit 8.2% down in Q2-FY20: finance minister

Egypt’s budget deficit dropped to 8.2 percent of GDP in the second quarter of the financial year from 9.8 percent the previous year, the finance minister said on Monday.

Egypt achieved a primary budget surplus of 104 billion Egyptian pounds ($6.3 billion) during the 2018/2019 financial year, targeting 124 billion pounds for the current year, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said at a business conference in Cairo.

Maait said earlier last week that the country is targeting a budget deficit of 7.2 percent for the current financial year, and a deficit of 6.2 percent in the 2020/21 financial year.