On Wednesday, the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi made a significant announcement regarding the monthly minimum salary in Egypt. The presidency announced that they will be increasing the minimum salary by 50% to 6,000 pounds ($194) starting from March.
This increase is part of an “urgent social protection package” worth 180 billion pounds. The decision is expected to positively impact the lives of many Egyptians who have been struggling to make ends meet due to the country’s economic challenges.The move comes when Egypt is on a pound devaluation watch. Some analysts said a 200 basis point interest rate hike by the central bank last week may indicate a devaluation is on the way.
The Egyptian pound, fixed at 30.85 to the dollar since March, traded on the black market earlier this month as low as 71 to the dollar, but has strengthened since then to about 60.
Sisi also directed the government to raise the tax threshold by 33%, from 45,000 pounds to 60,000 pounds, for all employees in the public and private sectors, the presidency statement said.
The social package included an added increase in the wages of state workers by a minimum ranging from 1,000 to 1,200 pounds per month, as of March.
The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday it had agreed with Egypt on the key policy components of an economic reform programme, in a further sign that a final deal to augment a $3 billion loan is nearing completion.
Egypt has been suffering from a slow-burning economic crisis and chronic shortage of foreign currency and has been in talks with the IMF for the last two weeks to revive and expand the loan agreement signed in December 2022.
