Egypt’s Public Investments Grow 535% In 6 Years

 Egyptian Minister of Planning Hala Al-Saeed (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Egyptian Minister of Planning Hala Al-Saeed (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Egypt’s Public Investments Grow 535% In 6 Years

 Egyptian Minister of Planning Hala Al-Saeed (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Egyptian Minister of Planning Hala Al-Saeed (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Egyptian Minister of Planning Hala Al-Saeed said that her country expects growth rate to range between six and seven percent in the second quarter of the current fiscal year.

She stressed that the government has been keen to maintain the boom achieved in public investments improve the quality of life, upgrade the level of services, and stimulate comprehensive and sustainable economic growth.

In this regard, the minister noted that the volume of public investments in the current during 2021-2022 amounted to about 933 billion pounds ($59 billion), with a growth rate of 46 percent compared to the previous year, and an increase of 535 percent compared to the 2014-2015.

Saeed was speaking on Tuesday, during the third edition of the Egypt Economic Summit, which is held under the auspices of the Council of Ministers.

She said that the cumulative total of public investments during the period of 2014-2022 amounted to about 3.6 trillion pounds ($230 billion), and the per capita share of public investments this fiscal year increased by 44 percent compared to the previous year, and by 440 percent compared to 2014-2015.

Saeed emphasized the government’s determination to pump huge investments to boost the economy at an accelerated pace, by pushing the wheel of investment, production and employment in all economic sectors, and focusing on developing infrastructure and advancing the human and social development sectors.

Saeed added that despite the relative recovery of global economic indicators with an expected growth rate of 5.9 percent in 2021, the effects of the pandemic are still present, especially with the emergence of new variants and their negative repercussions on the supply chains worldwide.



China to Focus on Stabilizing Housing Market in 2025, Housing Regulator Says

 A cleaner carrying a broom and a trash bin walks along a street in Beijing on December 24, 2024. (AFP)
A cleaner carrying a broom and a trash bin walks along a street in Beijing on December 24, 2024. (AFP)
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China to Focus on Stabilizing Housing Market in 2025, Housing Regulator Says

 A cleaner carrying a broom and a trash bin walks along a street in Beijing on December 24, 2024. (AFP)
A cleaner carrying a broom and a trash bin walks along a street in Beijing on December 24, 2024. (AFP)

Efforts will continue in 2025 to stabilize and prevent further declines in China's real estate market, China Construction News reported, citing a work conference held by the housing regulator on Tuesday and Wednesday.

China will vigorously promote the reform of the commercial housing sales system, and expand the scope of urban village renovation beyond the addition of 1 million units, the report said.

China will strictly control the supply of commercial housing, while increasing the supply of affordable housing to help solve the living problems of a large number of new citizens, young people and migrant workers, it said.

Policymakers have stepped up efforts to revive the real estate by introducing new measures to encourage home demand after a government-led campaign to rein in highly leveraged developers triggered a crisis in 2021.

Since September, measures aimed at encouraging homebuying have included cutting mortgage rates and minimum down-payments, as well as tax incentives to lower the cost of housing transactions.

The real estate market has shown some momentum of stabilizing, with home transactions in October and November seeing year-on-year and month-on-month growth for two consecutive months, said the conference.

China's home prices fell at the slowest pace in 17 months in November, supported by government efforts to revive the sector, official data showed.

An official of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission in December called for policy measures with direct impact on stabilizing the real estate market to be adopted as soon as possible, with local governments getting greater autonomy to buy housing stock.