Egypt will reduce subsidies on petroleum products by almost 43 percent in the 2016/2017 budget, Finance Minister Amr al-Garhy said at a news conference Saturday, according to Reuters. Energy subsidies will fall from approximately EGP 61 billion in the 2015/16 fiscal year to EGP 35 billion in 2016/17, he said. However, the deputy finance minister for fiscal policy, Ahmed Kojak, noted that the majority of the subsidy cuts will be accounted for by the decline in global oil prices, meaning it will not have as bad an effect on consumers as if the price of oil would have been higher. “Most of the savings in petroleum product subsidies will be a result of lower global oil prices,” the deputy minister said. “There is also a saving of about 8-10 billion (Egyptian) pounds that will come as a result of new reforms that the Petroleum Ministry will outline in agreement with us,” he added. The Finance Ministry is aiming to reduce domestic debt to 97 percent of GDP from this year’s 98 percent, according to Finance Minister al-Garhy. Energy subsidies have for long been an issue of contention in Egypt since…
