Source: Madamasr
Author(s): Osman El Sharnoubi
Original Link: https://madamasr.com/en/2019/06/17/feature/economy/the-government-wants-to-reduce-its-debt-will-its-new-strategy-work/
On May 5th, the Ministry of Finance released the government’s long-awaited debt management strategy. The government plan, which had originally been scheduled for release in March, comes at a crucial period in Egypt’s contemporary economic history. Over the last four years, the government has been engaged in a borrowing spree — reversing a quarter century-long aversion to external loans — and taking on levels of debt not seen since the 1980s.
By the end of June of 2018, government debt amounted to 97 percent of Egypt’s gross domestic product. Egypt’s foreign debt alone accounted for 35.4 percent of GDP last September. A whopping one third of annual government spending goes to servicing debt (including both interests and installments) — a percentage the Ministry of Finance nonetheless insists is safe.
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