Egypt sees strong growth in non-oil economy

CAIRO: An Egyptian minister has said that the performance of non-oil sectors in the country rose to the challenge of the pandemic, after the first economic recovery in more than a year was reported.

Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala Al-Saeed said the positive result was due to increased consumer demand and exports.

The news was announced in a Ministry of Planning report, which reviewed the results of the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) and examined the latest developments in the Egyptian economy.

“This economic recovery was reflected in the latest reading of the index, which rose from 49.4 points last August to 50.4 points in September this year. This reading indicates that this is the first time that the index has crossed the 50-point barrier since July 2019,” Al-Saeed said.

The minister said that the PMI is a monthly economic index calculated from surveys of non-oil private companies. It measures the performance of about 400 companies in the industrial, construction, services, retail and wholesale sectors.

According to a Cabinet report, the non-oil private economy has undergone rapid improvement after the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic, as production and new orders remained within the scope of expansion for three months.

This indicated a more optimistic picture for the third quarter of 2020, Al-Saeed said. The report also said that Egyptian companies remained confident of expanding production during the next year.

The data showed a rise in production as a result of an increase in new businesses, while companies indicated that the easing of health restrictions contributed to an increase in market activity and the revival of export contracts.

It also mentioned that the rise in business backlogs and contracts by some companies indicated stronger employment expectations in the last quarter.