Egypt's Sisi approves general budget with 10% deficit

Egypt's newly-elected President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has approved a revised version of the country 's general budget for the fiscal year 2014/2015, with a deficit of 10 percent of the gross domestic product, the Finance Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
The statement said that the budget includes a spending of 789 billion Egyptian pounds (about 110.3 billion U.S. dollars), while revenues are expected to stand at 549 billion Egyptian pounds (76. 7 billion U.S. dollars).
The difference between spending and revenues shows a budget deficit of 240 billion Egyptian pounds (33.5 billion U.S. dollars), representing about a 10-percent deficit for the new fiscal year, comparing with the 12 percent for the 2013/2014 fiscal year.
Finance Minister Hany Kadry is scheduled to hold a press conference on Monday to elaborate on the programs and reform plans included in the new budget.
Egypt's economy has been deteriorating after mass protests toppled ex-president Hosni Mubarak in January 2011, which was followed by three years of turmoil and lack of security that included the military ouster of Mubarak's successor, the Muslim Brotherhood-oriented former President Mohamed Morsi, in early July last year.
During that chaotic period, the most populous Arab state lost billions of dollars in its declining foreign currency reserves and foreign investments.