Egypt economy seen growing over 4.5 pct '08/09

Egypt's economy is expected to have grown by more than 4.5 per cent in the financial year 2008/9 as it begins to recover from the world financial crisis, the official news agency MENA reported on Monday.

Egypt has been hit by a slide in revenues from tourism, the Suez Canal and remittances from its workers abroad but analysts say its economy has proved relatively resilient, partly because its banks have had enough cash to ride out the credit crunch.

Growth, however, has slowed from more than 7 per cent in 2007/8.

"Expectations indicate that economic growth exceeded 4.5 per cent in 2008/9 in light of the start of a recovery of the Egyptian economy from the consequences of the global financial crisis," MENA reported without specifying a source.

MENA said the Minister of State for Economic Development Osman Mohamed Osman would announce economic indicators for 2008/9 on Tuesday.

Finance Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali said earlier this month that growth from April-June, the final quarter of fiscal 2008/9, was likely to be an annualised 4.5-4.7 per cent.