There is the beginning of an economic boom in Egypt. The twin deities of our time, privatization and globalization, have finally appeared.
Cellular phones abound, as well as trendy restaurants and nightclubs.
It is said that the grass for a new golf course on the outskirts of Cairo was flown in from Tifton, Ga., in refrigerated crates. A new publication, Al Borsa, tracks hot money in the markets. Inflation has fallen from 22 percent in 1990 to 7 percent. And the budget deficit, once 16 or 17 percent of gross national product, has shrunk to 1 percent. An overregulated economy that had entrepreneurs devoting nearly a third of their time to problems of bureaucratic interference has been opened up.