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Egypt PM says country eying 7% economic growth
13 Oct, 2008, 0042 hrs IST, AGENCIES
CAIRO: Egypt's top government and financial officials sought to allay concerns today about fallout from the global financial meltdown, saying the
country's foreign currency reserves were secure and that they were hoping for 7 per cent growth in the economy next year.
As the country's stock exchange took another beating, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif was the latest official to stress that the country faced no liquidity issues and that the economy was fundamentally strong.
But fallout from the global crisis that has stoked recession fears could come in the form of a drop in tourism revenues, exports and Suez Canal receipts, Nazif told a news conference after meeting with President Hosni Mubarak and other top officials.
Nazif, joined by the central bank governor and Egypt's investment minister, said the economy has grown by 6.8 to 7.1 per cent over the past few years, buoyed by a surge in foreign investments, coupled with tourism revenues and economic reforms.
"We hope to maintain a growth rate of 7 per cent next year," Nazif said, adding quickly, however, that the government would "be happy" with 6 per cent.
The assurances come at a time of tremendous volatility on the Egyptian stock exchange, with the benchmark CASE 30 index hitting a new two-year low by midmorning Sunday, falling over 7.5 per cent before rebounding later in the day to settle down 3.1 per cent.
As Salaamu Alaykum ~mushtaq
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