Egypts Planning Minister announced on Saturday that the country has revised up its economic growth forecast for fiscal 2017-18 that began in July to 5.3 to 5.5 percent from 4.8 percent previously. The gross domestic product was expected to have grown 5.2 to 5.3 percent in the second quarter that ended in December, adding that the government was aiming for 6 percent growth in 2018-19, said Hala al-Saeed. Egypt’s economy has struggled since a 2011 uprising drove tourists and foreign investors away, two main sources of hard currency, but the government hopes IMF-backed policy changes it has embarked on over the past year will put it back on track. Egypt is targeting a 20 percent rise in total investment for 2018-19, up from 646 billion Egyptian pounds ($36.58 billion) targeted for 2017-18, Saeed said. To draw investment and boost growth, Egypt passed a new investment law last year offering incentives to investors, while a decision to float the pound in late 2016 led to a devaluation that made Egyptian assets relatively cheap in dollar terms. ($1 = 17.6600 Egyptian pounds)
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