Economy
Egypt’s Economy Gathering Strength—IMF
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has disclosed that the Egyptian economy “is gathering strength” after the country’s authorities embarked on an ambitious reform program and also taking “decisive measures aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability and sustainable public finances.”
In a statement issued on Tuesday, September 26, 2017, the IMF said the North African nation has so far been able to have a flexible exchange rate regime as well as reduced its budget deficit.
In addition, the global financial firm said Egyptian authorities have been able to also come up with energy subsidy reform, include women and youth to share the benefits of growth more broadly, and have higher growth through wide-ranging structural reforms.
Head of the team dealing with Egypt at the IMF, Subir Lall, noted that, “By strengthening social protection measures, they have sought to protect the most vulnerable.
“We have seen that economic activity has been gathering strength and efforts at reining in the budget deficit have begun to bear fruit. With the liberalization of the foreign exchange market, foreign currency shortages have disappeared.
“Looking ahead through the end of this year and into next year, the policy mix is also supportive of a decline in inflation from the high levels in the summer.”
Egypt launched a reform program when its economy faced rising imbalances that led to high public debt, a widening current account deficit, and declining official reserves.
To support the home-grown reforms, the government embarked in November 2016 on an IMF-supported program to restore the stability of its finances, promoted growth and employment, while shielding the poor from the adverse effects of the changes.
With the floating of the Egyptian pound, the foreign exchange market normalized, and the parallel market for foreign currency disappeared. The focus of monetary policy is to bring down inflation, which reached more than 30 percent since April, mainly due to the sharp depreciation of the pound and the impact of energy and tax reforms.
Also, Egypt adopted a value-added tax (VAT) as part of its reform program which aims to increase tax revenues sustainably. The government also took steps to reform expenditures, including notably energy subsidies. Resources from the higher VAT and more efficient spending will slow the accumulation of public debt, which had been rising rapidly.
In addition, government has taken bold steps to reduce energy subsidies which benefit mostly the rich, and also skew production to energy-intensive industries. The government reallocated part of the resources to social spending, including on health and education, and for targeted cash transfers.
Furthermore, government took measures to increase employment and labour force participation for women and youth. It has allocated budget resources to increase access to and the quality of public nurseries to help women join the labour force. It is also planning to improve the safety of public transportation. The government has also implemented specialized training programs and job search schemes for youth.
Recently, the parliament approved several measures to improve the business climate such as less red tape in industrial licensing, and easier access to financing for small and medium-sized enterprises. These measures should create more new jobs and help alleviate unemployment, which is particularly concentrated among women and young people.
According to the IMF, building on the ongoing reform efforts and the restoration of confidence, Egypt has the opportunity to transition to a higher growth trajectory, and increase prosperity for all, by locking in the gains from macroeconomic stabilization and harnessing its full growth potential.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria received its first credit rating upgrade since 2012 from S&P Global Ratings, driven by improved oil market conditions and the country’s growing ability to refine and export crude locally.
The credit ratings agency upgraded the country’s rating by one notch to B, five levels below investment grade, according to a statement on Friday.
It raised its long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Nigeria to ‘B’ from ‘B-‘ and affirmed its ‘B’ short-term ratings. It also raised its long- and short-term Nigeria national scale ratings on the sovereign to ‘ngA+/ngA-1’ from ‘ngBBB+/ngA-2’.
S&P also cited Nigeria’s decision to liberalise the exchange rate as crucial to the development, and changed the outlook to stable.
The decision also comes as the federal government ruled out the reintroduction of subsidies on refined petroleum products, in order to avoid a return to larger budgetary deficits and drains on foreign currency (FX) liquidity.
S&P projected the general government deficit will widen to over 4 per cent of GDP on average during 2026 and 2027, a year of a general election.
It added that the implementation of reforms to broaden the tax base from very narrow levels is underpinning a steady decline in Nigeria’s debt-to-revenue ratio to 338 per cent in 2026 versus 500 per cent in 2023.
The agency said it could raise ratings over the next two years if fiscal outcomes improve significantly, either due to fiscal consolidation or structurally higher revenue, resulting in lower debt service costs.
It, however, warned that it could also lower the ratings if the implementation of Nigeria’s reform programme, particularly the series of critical steps taken to liberalise the exchange rate in 2023, reverses.
On the oil production forecast, S&P expects 2026 production to average approximately 1.66 million barrels per day, including condensates.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Nigerian maritime sector may soon witness the inflow of $600 million in investment from APM Terminals.
On the sidelines of the ongoing Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, the Regional President of APM Terminals for Africa-Europe, Mr Igor van den Essen, informed President Bola Tinubu that his company was interested in deepening its investment in Nigeria.
According to a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President of Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, the investment would be deployed in Apapa port modernisation, logistics infrastructure, and long-term private-sector investment in Nigeria’s maritime sector.
President Tinubu welcomed the investments, emphasising that Nigeria is repositioning itself for greater competitiveness through ongoing economic reforms and infrastructure modernisation.
He said the country is determined to move beyond structural bottlenecks and outdated systems, stressing the need for advanced technology, faster cargo processing, and improved operational efficiency across the nation’s ports.
He emphasised that Nigeria possesses the market scale, talent base, and economic potential to support globally competitive maritime and logistics infrastructure investments and called on other investors to take advantage of Nigeria’s reform outcomes.
Earlier, Mr Igor van den Essen lauded President Tinubu’s reform agenda and policy direction, which had strengthened investor confidence and created renewed momentum for long-term infrastructure investments.
He described Nigeria as a strategic stronghold within its African operations, referencing over 20 years of collaboration and substantial existing investments in the country’s port ecosystem.
He reaffirmed his company’s commitment to expanding investments in Nigeria and disclosed plans to support the development of world-class terminal infrastructure and technology-driven port operations.
He also commended Mr Tinubu for establishing the National Single Window (NSW), which has streamlined trade procedures, improved Customs coordination, and reduced delays in cargo clearance.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has filed a new lawsuit against the federal government over the fuel import licences issued to marketers and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
Last week, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) issued licences to six marketers for the importation of 720,000 metric tonnes of Premium Motor Spirit, known as petrol.
The marketers are NIPCO, AA Rano, Matrix, Shafa, Pinnacle, and Bono. The development comes amid claims by the NMDPRA that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery now supplies over 90 per cent of Nigeria’s daily petrol consumption.
Dangote said in the filing that the licences issued undermine its operations and contravene the law, which it argues allows imports only when domestic supply falls short.
Named in the suit against the country is the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi. The federal government can only be sued via his office.
The case signals renewed tensions almost a year after Dangote withdrew an earlier lawsuit challenging similar licences. That case sought to nullify import permits issued to the NNPC and several traders.
The new filing asks the Federal High Court in Lagos to set aside import permits issued or renewed by the NMDPRA, arguing they breach an earlier order to maintain the status quo.
Dangote ended the earlier lawsuit in July 2025 without explanation, leaving unresolved questions over competition and supply in one of Africa’s largest fuel markets.
Nigeria has long relied on petrol imports due to underperforming state refineries. However, Dangote’s 650,000 barrels per day capacity refinery was touted to end that dependence.
Despite the presence of the facility, imports have continued to cover supply gaps as the refinery ramps up output.
The NMDPRA did not issue a single import licence in the first quarter of 2026 because the Dangote refinery had the capacity to meet Nigeria’s petrol demand.
Business Post gathered that only upon intervention by President Bola Tinubu were the licenses granted for the second quarter by the NMDPRA.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn