The Egypt exchange traded fund has been one of the few bastions of strength in the emerging markets space, and the economy will continue to recover as a second stimulus infusion goes into effect.
The Market Vectors Egypt ETF (NYSEArca: EGPT) has gained 16.0% year-to-date. Meanwhile the MSCI Emerging Markets Index is down 6.5% so far this year.
Egypt’s interim government revealed a 33.9 billion Egyptian pound, or $4.87 billion, stimulus package Monday, reports Michael Georgy for Reuters.
Ahmed Galal, the finance minister, said that the new spending would be financed mostly by the United Arab Emirates.
The finance ministry previously only planned to spend around 30 billion Egyptian pounds in a stimulus package launched in August.
The stimulus package will be used on development projects, financing social programs like raising minimum wage and 2 billion pounds will be allocated toward developing the corridor around the Suez Canal.
Egypt’s economy has been racked by political unrest ever since the popular uprising ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak three years ago in the so-called Arab Spring. The most recent protests centered around the ousted President Mohammed Morsi. [Political Violence Ignites Sell-Off in Egypt ETF]
Egypt’s army-backed government is currently in a transitional phase, with elections set to take place later this year.
Market Vectors Egypt ETF
For more information on Egypt, visit our Egypt category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.