Riding the MENA wave
Egypt’s reformist government is grappling with the dilemma of fighting inflation while cutting a growing deficit. However, in the capital markets, Egyptian companies are expanding and becoming MENA regional champions. Julian Evans reports from Cairo.
In 2004, after a decade of poor economic performance, President Mubarak appointed a new government, headed up by Ahmed Nazif, the youngest-ever prime minister of Egypt. Nazif brought in a cabinet of liberal reformers – some from the private sector, such as Rasheed Mohamed, minister of trade and industry, who was formerly CEO of Unilever in Egypt; some from multilaterals, such as Youssef Boutros Ghali, formerly of the IMF; and some from academia, such as Mahmood Mohieldin, minister of investment, who was formerly an economics professor at the University of Cairo, where Nazif also formerly worked.
