Egypt's finance minister raises deficit forecast

Reuters, Wednesday 30 Mar 2011

Political turmoil weighs on budget after hit on tourism and exports revenue

Egypt sees its budget deficit growing to 9.1 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) for the year to the end of June 2012, up from an estimated 8.5 per cent in the current fiscal year, its finance minister told a newspaper.

Political turmoil that toppled President Hosni Mubarak has weighed on the budget deficit after revenues from sectors including tourism and exports were hit, Minister Samir Radwan told al-Ahram newspaper.

Egypt had predicted a deficit of 7.9 per cent of GDP for fiscal 2010/11 before the unrest that ousted Mubarak on 11 February.

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