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Egypt's budget deficit narrows 18.3% y/y in first 5 months of FY 2013/2014 [IntelliNews - Weekly Reports](IntelliNews - Weekly Reports Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Egypt's cumulative budget deficit for the first 5 months of FY 2013/2014 (July- November) contracted by 18.3% y/y to EGP 65.9bn (USD 9.48bn) thanks to EGP 36bn direct budgetary support received in grants from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE, according to figures released by the finance ministry. At the end of November 2013, Egypt's primary budget deficit, before accounting for debt interest payments, stood at 0.3% of the estimated GDP of EGP 2.05tn for FY 2013/2014. While the overall budget deficit to GDP ratio already stood at 3.2%, down from 4.6% the year before. On the revenue side of the balance sheet, total state revenues were up 16.7% y/y to EGP 126.7bn in the first 5 months of the FY 2013/2014 compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year with grants from foreign governments increasing from a negative EGP 164mn to EGP 36.7bn. However, taxation revenue dropped 13.3% y/y to EGP 68.4bn due to lower income tax, sales tax and customs revenue. While revenues from other income, reflecting mainly returns on state assets and revenues from sales of goods and services, declined by 27.3% y/y to EGP 21.4bn. On the expenditure side of the balance sheet, total government spending inched up 1.4% y/y higher to EGP 190.8bn in the first 5 months of the FY 2013/2014 compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year. The very modest expansion in budgetary spending was mainly due to a severe curtailment in the state subsidies and welfare bill, which contracted by 42% y/y to EGP 30.7bn to offset a 25.8% y/y rise in salaries and compensations of state employees to EGP 68.6bn and a 16.8% y/y leap in cost of debt servicing to EGP 60.2bn. (c) 2013 Emerging Markets Direct Media Holdings LLC Provided by Syndigate.info, an Albawaba.com company |