Bank of Alexandria to be privatized; government growth rate up to 6 per cent, Nazif says

The government is working on increasing the growth rate to up to 6 per cent over the coming five years, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said on Friday.

Speaking to the US leading media economic agency Bloornberg, Nazif said the government will go on with its privatization program as planned.

He said that Bank of Alexandria and shares of the Telecom Egypt will be privatized. The aim is to inject blood into the economic landscape and increase job opportunities, he said. The premier said that the government is embarking in a promising economic program, which will see customs decreased, taxes simplified and Egyptian pound beefed up. He added that the higher rates of growth will make up losses sustained by the state's treasury due to the tariff cuts in customs duties and taxes valued at about LE 6 billion.

An analysis transmitted by Bloomberg, reported the Egyptian economy had witnessed several positive aspects like a cut in the customs duties which led to a cut in prices of capital commodities, raw materials and industrial requirements in a bid to boost the local products competitiveness.

Bloomberg quoted a bank manager in Egypt as saying that the government deals seriously with businessmen's problems and exerts efforts to remove obstacles impeding investment projects.