And unless remedial action is taken on a massive scale, a slide into foreign debt will become inevitable, economists warn. Finance Minister Aymen Benabderahmane estimates the losses of state-owned enterprises at nearly one billion euros ($1.17 billion). The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast that Algeria’s economy will shrink 5.2 percent this year. A 2020 complementary finance act is based on a decrease in revenues to around 38 billion euros, against the 44 billion euros initially forecast. Algeria must “bring together all political, economic and social forces… (and) avoid division on secondary issues”, he said.

Source: The North Africa Journal August 09, 2020 15:56 UTC