Egypt targets budget deficit of 9.8 pct for 2016-2017

CAIRO, May 28 (Reuters) - The Egyptian government is targeting a budget deficit of 9.8 percent for 2016-2017 and 9 percent for the following year, the planning minister said in a news conference on Saturday.

Ashraf al-Araby also said his government is targeting less than 4.5 percent growth in the second half of the fiscal year, 5.3 percent growth in 2016-2017 and 6 percent in 2017-2018.

(Reporting by Ehab Farouk writing by Amina Ismail, editing by David Evans) ((amina.ismail@thomsonreuters.com; +20 2 2394 8114;))

Keywords: EGYPT BUDGET/