Egyptian Property News: Economy Growing at an Impressive Pace

Egypt Property News:

According to a recent report by the Word Bank, the Egyptian economy is growing at an impressive pace. Direct foreign investment is reported to be at record levels and this year Egypt scored highly with the World Bank for its reforms aimed at promoting business.

Egypt Property: A Window of Opportunity

The picture isn’t all good, the World Bank noted the unacceptable levels of poverty in the country need to be addressed and recommended Egypt take steps to curb inflation which has risen to 12% partly as a result of higher global food prices and partly due to strong economic growth.

“We are not claiming that everybody has managed to have an adequate share of the outcome of growth in the country. But we can’t ignore the improvement in the standard of living for those exposed positively to investments in Egypt,” Mahmoud Mohieldin, Egypt’s minister of investment is quoted as saying.

Mr. Mohieldin was addressing investors prior to a ceremony to receive an award from the World Bank for the nation that has reformed its business regulations the most in 2007. Mr. Mohieldin also commented: “Egypt’s economy has grown by more than 7% so far this year, investment has increased by 40% per year, and unemployment has fallen to 8.8%”

Egypt has improved its overall place in the World Bank’s aggregate rankings to 126 from the previous position of 152. This was achieved by reducing the minimum capital outlay required to start a business from EGP50,000 to EGP1,000, whilst halving the start-up time and cost involved in launching a business, according to the World Bank

In further welcoming news for Egypt property buyers, the country has announced a substantial lowering the cost of registering properties from the current 3% of the purchase value, to a low fixed fee which works out at approximately €260 (Euro) per property.

The World Bank’s report also said that foreign direct investment rose to $11.3 billion in the past nine months which surpassed the previous financial year’s record of $11.1 billion.

Since the launch of a major raft of fiscal reforms in mid 2004, Egypt’s economic fortunes have significantly improved, but Mr. Mohieldin claims that the country’s populace should have more access to finance, education and training facilities. He also said that the Egyptian economy needs to expand by over 6% per annum to offset the increase in female participation in the labour market.

Colin Timms of Arabian Sands commented: “Overall, the World Bank’s report should be regarded as good news for purchasers of Egyptian properties”. “However, investors should factor in possible future inflation curbing interest rate rises”. He continued: “With a low entry level of around £25,000, and many of the ongoing reforms tailored to ease the path for Egypt property buyers which will encourage further inward investment from prospective investors in Egyptian real estate, the country continues to offer great prospects for anyone looking for bargain priced properties”.