A Tour of Egypt 434.6 million), the number of tourists visiting Egypt has risen,
with more than 11 million visitors annually. The complexities
of the Egyptian economy cannot be addressed in a few
paragraphs. Some things in Egypt seem to be changing
rapidly and others at a very, very slow rate. Due to the
dynamic economic development policies, I hesitate to put
hard figures into a discussion of the economy. Rather, I will
give you the government’s stated economic reform strategy
along with highlights of a few characteristics that affect
economic development.
Egypt’s economy is in the process of liberalisation in an
effort to transfer the national economy from the government
sector to the private sector through guided central planning.
A number of steps have been introduced to open the
economy to encourage growth. Over the past five years, the
government enacted significant economic reforms which
have reduced the budget deficit, stabilised the exchange rate,
reduced inflation and interest rates significantly, and built
up substantial reserves. The government has undertaken
several steps to grow the economy in recent years.
For example, the passing of decree number 95 of 1992
organised the stock market and streamlined procedures
for foreign investors, including the granting of residency
permission for six months until projects are registered.
A centralised authority to streamline company incorporation
procedures was also established. Privatisation efforts
continue to move Egypt away from a centralised economy.
Encouraged by the government’s privatisation programme,
the Egyptian Stock Exchange (ESE) ended 1996 nearly
40 per cent up on the year, leading all Middle Eastern stock
exchanges. Foreign investments increased significantly
and by early 1997, Egypt’s Standard and Poor’s ratings
improved substantially.
Egypt has a tradition of entrepreneurship and capital
markets, but shifted to a socialised, government-run economy
in the 1950s. Centralisation affected the population in many
ways; nevertheless, a healthy entrepreneur class continued
within the constructs of a planned central economy. In this
sense, the shift back to a market-driven economy would seem