Egypt likely the only economy in MENA to expand in 2020: OBG

Egypt likely the only economy in MENA to expand in 2020: OBG

Egypt's economy is expected to be the only one in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to expand in 2020 despite the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, based on the country's economic resilience and broad-based structural reforms implemented prior to the pandemic, according to Oxford Business Group (OBG).

In its report on Egypt's response to COVID-19 released on Tuesday, OBG said that the Egyptian government has adopted decisive measures that balanced the need for containment with the social requirements of maintaining economic growth.

The report was conducted in cooperation with the Commercial International Bank (CIB).

For the banking sector, the report predicted that lower interest rates will likely become the new normal, which will enhance the lending environment.

Low loan leverage and sound deposit levels suggest a stable outlook in the short term, while the growth rate in domestic liquidity continued to increase throughout the pandemic, as did total deposits (including government deposits), according to the report.

The report also said that the actions taken by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), along with the increased lending to the private sector in response to the crisis, are expected to contribute to Egypt's economic rebound over the medium to