2018 is “Egypt’s year,” according to BMI Research Africa Monitor report for February. “While the region as a whole is set to see growth accelerate, Egypt stands out as the economic outperformer in 2018, as structural reforms implemented as part of the 2016 IMF [agreement] begin to spur more significant investment, while headwinds to household consumption cool.” The report tempers expectation by saying “the outlook is not uniformly bright, with elevated political instability likely to persist. However, these challenges, while offering some economic headwinds, will not be sufficient to derail the bright growth story in 2018.” BMI’s report also gives a nod to the new investment act, which it expects will “further boost investor confidence, and drive fixed capital formation in the country. An uptick in investment will also create job opportunities, underpinning our view for fixed investment and private consumption to support the acceleration of GDP growth over the coming quarters.” (Sorry, folks—we can’t link to the report for copyright reasons.)

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