Minister of Supply Khaled Hanafy said the government has sought to make some economic reforms through policies and methods.
First of these includes technical financial inclusion, previously considered impossible, but which the government managed to implement. Hanafy said that after applying this policy, there are 50,000 supply outlets deals with the Ministry of Supply through the banks.
At an economic conference held Tuesday in Cairo, Hanafy added that the formalisation of the informal sector led to the provision of EGP 37bn into the banking sector. This occurred simply through conservative treatment with suppliers and dealers.
The conference was held Tuesday in Cairo in the presence of governmental and business sector officials, to display the details and results of the March Economic Summit, held in Sharm El-Sheikh.
Hanafy added that the government tended to liberalise the market, meaning the market has become dependent on the efficiency and responsibility more than nepotism. He added this is an important step to eliminate one of the investors’ problems.
The government’s work on reforming the supply chain and the ministry achieving some success in this regard was represented in the building of 105 wheat barns. This occurred through converting traditional and open barns into modern closed ones through a control system. In addition to this, 25 wheat silos are currently under construction, and will be completed in a very short period, according to Hanafy.
Vice chairman of First Equity Partners Omar Maghawry said the Egyptian market is a consuming market rather than a productive one. This is, in his view, the real problem, as the consuming market does not lead to increased growth rates.
Maghawri asked banks to play a role in financing companies to encourage the market to be more productive. This is especially so since there are approximately 11 banks, which approve the funding, and the rest fears of market risks.
Gamal Gouda, Professor of Petroleum Engineering and Energy, said Egypt needs to change its approach to rely on traditional sources of electricity generating as other countries did.
Gouda noted that Egypt depends on traditional energy sources to generate electricity at a rate of 93% from gas and fuel, which leads to many problems in Egypt in the case of lake of fuel or gas.
He added that Egypt loses approximately EGP 184bn on energy subsidies from its national budget annually, which contributes to the budget deficit.
Deputy Director of Planning, Research and Studies Department of the Suez Canal Authority Yahia Roshdy said the New Suez project is in its final stages. He pointed out the completion of dry drilling stage and finishing 57% of dredging stage.
