Economy features

Final Issue: Policies of the former regime linger, much to detriment of the economy

25 Apr 2013
This piece was written for Egypt Independent's final weekly print edition, which was banned from going to press. We offer you our 50th and final edition here. On the macroeconomic level, the closure of a newspaper is a nonevent. It is...
Yes

Final Issue: Problem of unemployment likely to worsen in Egypt

Causes of unemployment are varied and may be due to a combination of the following factors.
25 Apr 2013
This piece was written for Egypt Independent's final weekly print edition, which was banned from going to press. We offer you our 50th and final edition here. Whether the economy is growing or slowing, unemployment has been one of...
Yes

Final Issue: How one Egyptian family struggles to make ends meet amid harsh conditions

With the deteriorating economic situation and constant increase in prices, families are struggling to make do with their own resources.
25 Apr 2013
This piece was written for Egypt Independent's final weekly print edition, which was banned from going to press. We offer you our 50th and final edition here. Mohamed Abdel Barr starts his day at 4 am, when he wakes up for the dawn...
Yes

IMF and Egypt: No news is more of the same

Dozens of political activists taking part in protest against IMF loan, in front of Stock Exchange, Cairo, 29 August 2012.
22 Apr 2013
In a statement released on 21 April, the International Monetary Fund said that its Managing Director Christine Lagarde met with the Egyptian delegation, and that “the authorities and IMF staff have made further progress in their...
Yes

Adel Gazarin: Veteran industrialist reflects on historic Nasr Car Company

Adel Gazarin is a prominent figure in the Egyptian automotive industry.
16 Apr 2013
  Adel Gazarin, a prominent figure in Egypt’s automotive industry, has played an important role in the field since its beginning in the 1950s, a period that witnessed the development of state-owned heavy industries. Born in...
Yes

Visa finds positive correlation between e-payments and economic growth

15 Apr 2013
Electronic payments in Egypt are on an uptrend, and according to a recent study, this contributes directly to overall economic growth. A global study conducted for Visa by Moody’s Analytics found that the growth in the use of...
Yes

Bankers debate financing Egypt's widening budget deficit

An Egyptian woman walks into a currency exchange office in downtown Cairo.
14 Apr 2013
Egypt’s budget deficit reached about LE146.5 billion in the first eight months of fiscal year 2012/13, equaling 8.2 percent of gross domestic product, according to the Finance Ministry’s monthly report. Because of a confluence...
Yes

Egypt crisis threatens food for poorest: World Food Programme

An Egyptian carries a load of bread 'aish' Arabic for life, at a Cairo street.
12 Apr 2013
The nation's economic crisis poses a threat to basic nutrition for its population of 84 million people, as the poorest spend more than half their income on food, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Thursday. WFP country director...
Yes

Rushed customs tariffs hike may be 'too little, too late'

Empty resorts on the Taba Nuweibaa coastline at peak season
11 Apr 2013
President Mohamed Morsy issued a decree in late March that increased custom duties on 100 luxury products, an unsurprising move as the country struggles to boost revenues and shrink its widening budget deficit.  Food products such as...
Yes

Scrapped capital gains tax another sign of slapdash economic policies

08 Apr 2013
An abrupt implementation of a 10 percent capital gains tax on shareholders and investment funds that profited from the takeover of National Societe Generale Bank by Qatar National Bank created enough of an uproar to force authorities to...
Yes