Egypt records highest-ever primary surplus in FY24/25 at 3.6%: Finance minister
Egypt recorded its highest-ever primary budget surplus in the 2024/25 fiscal year, equivalent to 3.6 percent of GDP, finance minister Ahmed Kouchouk said on Monday, as the economy grew 4.7 percent in the third quarter despite major external shocks.
Speaking at a panel hosted by Al Ahly Pharos Securities, Kouchouk said the figures confirmed the government’s bet on private sector expansion, noting that private investment rose 80 percent in the first nine months of the year.
Growth was led by industry, tourism, and ICT, while exports climbed 30 percent even as Suez Canal and energy revenues slumped.
Egypt has lost more than 60 percent of its canal income since Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza spilt into the Red Sea, disrupting global shipping routes.
Kouchouk said tax receipts had increased by 35 percent without new levies, crediting simplified procedures and improved compliance.
He pledged a second package of tax facilitations in the coming months, including faster valued-added tax (VAT) refunds, to bolster business confidence.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its latest review of Egypt’s $8 billion loan programme, warned that external financing needs are set to rise from $25.9 billion to $30.4 billion before easing to $27.5 billion, with the current year’s financing gap revised up to $8.2 billion.
The Fund also revised upwards its forecast for Egypt’s financing gap in the current year, raising it from $5.2 billion to $8.2 billion.
Additionally, the IMF projects the shortfall in 2026/27 to nearly double to $6.1 billion, compared to a previous estimate of $3.2 billion.