Minister: Economic group to assess best mechanism to implement SCI resolutions

Finance Minister Amr el Gahri asserted that the economic group is currently assessing the best mechanism to implement the resolutions of the Supreme Council of Investment (SCI), expecting the investment law bill to be finalized within the coming weeks.

Addressing the third annual conference of the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), Gahri said the biggest challenge facing the government at the present time is the implementation of reforms on the ground.

He made it clear that the banking and private sectors have set a key objective which is to achieve a leap in the economic performance rates through increasing growth rates as well as reducing unemployment and inflation.

As per his expectations for increasing the revenues after implementation of the value-added tax (VAT), the minister said it would increase tax revenues between 0.5 to 0.6 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the current fiscal year.

He said tourism sector has started to operate well and voiced hope over its full recovery in the coming phase. He also said private investments have recorded a growth rate of 40 percent more than the former rates, expecting it to achieve along with the government investments a balance in growth rates.

Responding to a question on whether the dollar exchange rate would decrease in the coming phase, the minister said the liberalization of exchange rate would propel exports as well as industrial and agricultural production in the coming phase.

The US bank Goldman Sachs has recently issued a report on countries that would lead world economic growth during the coming 30 years, the minister said, noting that Egypt has been chosen by the bank to have promising economic potentials