Egypt's economic recovery gathers pace

Having suffered following last summer’s “second revolution”, the Egyptian economy is finally starting to gather steam. Activity has been buoyed by recent political stability and the government’s Gulf-funded stimulus packages. Indeed, industrial production expanded at its fastest pace in July in more than two years. Admittedly, the picture isn’t completely rosy. The tourism sector is still in the doldrums, while natural gas output has continued to slide. And high inflation and unemployment mean that a renewed bout of social unrest remains a risk. But, barring a fresh political crisis, we expect growth to strengthen further over the coming quarters.