Egypt Targets 5.7% Growth in Next FY

A general view of central Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters file photo)
A general view of central Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters file photo)
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Egypt Targets 5.7% Growth in Next FY

A general view of central Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters file photo)
A general view of central Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters file photo)

Egypt will target economic growth of 5.7 percent and a primary surplus of 1.5 percent of GDP in the 2022-23 financial year, the finance ministry said on Tuesday.

The country is targeting an overall budget deficit of 6.1 percent in the next financial year, which begins in July.

The finance ministry added that the government raised its local wheat procurement price for the harvest beginning April 2022 by around EGP670 per ton from the price set a year prior as global wheat prices increased.

The ministry said Egypt, which is often the world's largest importer, allocated an additional EGP12 billion for wheat purchases in 2021 as global prices increased.

Meanwhile, Egyptian Petroleum Minister Tariq El-Molla said that Egypt expects to hold a bid round for oil and gas exploration before the end of June.

The ministry had said earlier that it targets $7 billion in direct foreign investment (FDI) for its oil and gas sector.

Molla was speaking at the American Chamber of Commerce forum on Monday to prepare for COP 27 under the title 'Building Momentum to COP27 of the United Nations: Enhancing Public-Private Cooperation on the Climate Challenge.'

He pointed out that the petroleum sector is currently implementing a national strategy to confront climate change and reduce emissions by 2050.

Egypt aims to reduce emissions in the energy field by expanding the uses of natural gas as a fuel and continuing its essential role as a low-emissions energy source during the transition period.

Molla explained that the energy subsidy reforms allowed allocations to be directed to the citizens entitled to it within the framework of initiatives to improve the standard of living.

He added that as a result of these reforms, Egypt's production of petroleum products increased by 30 percent from 2014 to 2020, which subsequently led to a decrease in carbon emissions.

Egypt's consumption of natural gas as a clean fuel rose 35 percent of the total consumption of fossil fuels during the same period.

The ministry plans to reduce the use of carbon by interacting with the initiatives of global partners and cooperating with the private sector and international companies to move towards the production of green hydrogen.

Molla pointed out that Egypt will continue to increase reliance on natural gas alternatives to some petroleum products.

He explained that natural gas is environmentally friendly and one of the essential options for the transition towards clean energy and reducing emissions.

Molla stressed the importance of natural gas as a transitional fuel in the transitional phase towards expanding the use of green energies and reaching zero emissions, which Egypt adopts in its current strategy by expanding reliance on natural gas.



Trump Treasury Pick Bessent Backs Fed Independence, Dollar, Sanctions on Russian Oil

 Scott Bessent, US President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of treasury, looks on as he testifies during a Senate Committee on Finance confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, January 16, 2025. (Reuters)
Scott Bessent, US President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of treasury, looks on as he testifies during a Senate Committee on Finance confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, January 16, 2025. (Reuters)
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Trump Treasury Pick Bessent Backs Fed Independence, Dollar, Sanctions on Russian Oil

 Scott Bessent, US President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of treasury, looks on as he testifies during a Senate Committee on Finance confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, January 16, 2025. (Reuters)
Scott Bessent, US President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of treasury, looks on as he testifies during a Senate Committee on Finance confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, January 16, 2025. (Reuters)

President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said on Thursday that the dollar should remain the world's reserve currency, the Federal Reserve should stay independent and that he is ready to impose tougher sanctions on Russia's oil sector.

Bessent, testifying at a Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing, underscored an urgent need to extend Trump's 2017 individual tax cuts, saying that allowing them to expire at the end of this year would unleash a $4 trillion tax hike that could crush the US economy.

"If we do not renew and extend, then we will be facing an economic calamity," Bessent said. "We will see a gigantic middle class tax increase."

Bessent, a hedge fund manager and founder of Key Square Capital Management, voiced support for Trump's plans to impose steep tariffs, saying they would combat unfair trade practices, raise revenues and increase US negotiating leverage, including on non-trade issues.

In prepared remarks he said pro-growth tax, investment, trade and energy policies would usher in a "a new economic golden age" of prosperity.

RUSSIAN OIL SANCTIONS

Bessent said that US sanctions against Russia's oil sector have been too weak, partly because the Biden administration was too concerned about increasing prices at the same time it was constraining US oil output. Increased US oil production would allow for tougher sanctions on Russian oil majors, he said.

"I think if any officials in the Russian Federation are watching this confirmation hearing, they should know that if I'm confirmed, and if President Trump requests as part of his strategy to end the Ukraine war, that I will be 100% on board with taking sanctions up - especially on the Russian oil majors - to levels that would bring the Russian Federation to the table," Bessent said.

He also had harsh words for China, calling it "the most imbalanced, unbalanced economy in the history of the world," one that was trying to export its way out of a "severe recession/depression" and the US could not allow China to flood US or world markets with cheap goods.

NO DRAMA

In a hearing marked by few testy exchanges, Bessent coolly fielded questions ranging from child tax credits to tariff impacts on farmers and did not stray from answers consistent with previous Republican Treasury nominees, but without contradicting Trump's policy plans.

He said that US spending on President Joe Biden's clean energy tax credit was "wildly out of control" and that high deficits in recent years were due to a "spending problem." Asked if a 100% tax credit for business research and development needed to be restored, he said his "inclination" would be to support that.

Democrats chided Bessent for taking advantage of a tax loophole, the legality of which has been disputed by the Internal Revenue Service, to reduce the Medicare taxes paid by his hedge fund by $910,000 over three years.

"This is exactly the kind of abusive scheme that leaves Americans feeling disgusted with our tax system," said Senator Ron Wyden, the panel's top Democrat.

Bessent said that he would set aside funds to pay any taxes owing once the case is decided. He has pledged to shutter Key Square to avoid conflicts of interest if his nomination is confirmed.

FED INDEPENDENCE

Markets were expected to scrutinize Bessent's comments on keeping the Federal Reserve independent for clues as to whether Trump would try to exert control over the US central bank given the president-elect's frequent complaints over Fed interest rate decisions.

But Bessent came down firmly on the side of Fed monetary policy independence, adding that Trump would still make his views known.

"I think on monetary policy decisions, the FOMC should be independent," he said, referring to the Fed's rate-setting panel, the Federal Open Market Committee.

Although some economists have said that Trump's plans to impose tariffs, cut taxes and curb immigration would be inflationary, Bessent disagreed, saying Trump's plans, including increased energy production, would lower inflation to the Fed's 2% target while increasing wages.

Despite Trump's longstanding complaints about a strong dollar hurting US exports, Bessent said: "Critically - critically - we must ensure that the dollar remains the world's reserve currency."

Bessent also rejected the idea of a central bank digital currency for the Fed, saying that the dollar's wide use and security made this unnecessary. He said he was open to the idea of creating a US sovereign wealth fund, but said the US needed to get control over short-term deficit growth first.

HIGH DEBT, LESS CAPACITY

Bessent vowed that there would be no debt default on US Treasury debt under his watch. Asked whether Congress should abandon the federal debt ceiling, Bessent said that if Trump requested that, he would work with Congress to make it happen.

The high debt level means that there is less capacity to borrow heavily to combat a crisis, Bessent said, citing examples of the 1930s Great Depression, World War Two and the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

"Treasury – along with the whole of government and Congress - has used its borrowing capacity to save the union, save the world, and save the American people," Bessent said. "What we currently have now, we would be hard pressed to do the same."