Non-oil private sector activity in Egypt fell last month to the lowest level since
September 2017, recording 48.2 points according to the I.H.S Index of Purchasing
Managers in Egypt, so that private sector contraction continues throughout 2019.
The private sector was unable to achieve any growth and prosperity except in six
months during the last 36 months; of them only two months were in 2019 and even
those were of a simple percentage that almost exceeds the limit between deflation
and growth.
The sub-index of production fell to 46.6 in November from 48.6 in October.
Employment declined to 48.3 from 50.7.
The index report stated that the continued stagnation in the market and the decline
in demand led to a significant contraction in production, so companies sought to
limit their economic activity, which led to the first decline in employment since July,
and the reduction of product prices at the fastest rate in the history of the series.
An economist at HIS, David Owen, said: “Companies pointed to concerns about the
local economy as a reason for the overall decline, and that the volume of new
business declined for the fourth month in a row.”
The iron and steel, cement, printing and textile industries have been the most
exposed to losses in 2019.
Ezz Steel Group, the largest private company in the iron industry, announced in its
annual statement that it had achieved losses amounting to EGP 4.321 billion in 2019,
and the textile sector continued its losses, which exceeded EGP 5 billion during the
years 2018/2019.