Egypt's economic growth accelerated to an annualised 5.9 percent in the three months to end-June, rebounding from the global downturn, a cabinet statement said on Wednesday.Gross domestic product (GDP...

Egypt's economic growth accelerated to an annualised 5.9 percent in the three months to end-June, rebounding from the global downturn, a cabinet statement said on Wednesday.Gross domestic product (GDP) for the financial year to end-June grew 5.3 percent, faster than the 4.7 percent growth in 2008/09, the statement said. "This indicates a near full recovery from the global crisis and a return to the path of rapid economic growth similar to the period before the global crisis," the statement quoted Economic Development Minister Osman Mohamed Osman as saying. Economists said the growth figure for the fourth quarter of the financial year was better than they had expected."It was a good performance," said Simon Williams, an economist for HSBC. "It means growth has accelerated almost every quarter since end-2008. Egyptian growth hit a record 7.2 percent in 2007/08 before the global downturn curbed tourism, foreign direct investment and Suez Canal revenues in the Arab world's most populous country.The construction sector grew by an annual 13.2 percent in the fourth quarter and the information technology sector by 12 percent, the cabinet said. "We know that tourism did well in the quarter," said Simon Kitchen, an economist with EFG-Hermes. "We assume that investment did as well. That has been reflected in the recovery of credit growth that we've seen in the quarter." Tourism is a vital source of foreign currency in Egypt, along with Suez Canal revenue, oil and gas exports and remittances from Egyptians living abroad.Government officials have forecast that in the fiscal year that began on July 1 the economy could grow by 5.8 to 6.0 percent.   (Source: Arab Finance)