With regard to the restrictions on incorporation of companies, a Draft Decree was approved on the amendment to some Articles of the Executive Regulations of Investment Law No. 72 of 2017, as well as a Draft Decree on the amendment to Article (34) of Investment Law No. 72 of 2017 regarding licensing natural gas-based industries projects as one of the production inputs in order to work within the Free Zones Framework.
With regard to the multiplicity of approvals and the long of time for obtaining them, it was approved to issue a Decree to be circulated to all entities on specifying a specific time limit for all approvals, which is 10 business days for one time upon incorporation, which would add more confidence in the investment climate in Egypt. In addition, the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones “GAFI”, in cooperation with all concerned entities, was directed to establish a "unified electronic platform for incorporating, operating and liquidating projects", in addition to approving amendments to the E-Signature Law (Law No. 15 of 2004) and referring it to the Parliament in order to lower bureaucratic barriers and simplify procedures.
With regard to land allocation, Ministry of Justice has been mandated to prepare a set of legislative amendments necessary to overcome restrictions related to land ownership, and to facilitate ownership of real estate for foreigners. With regard to permits to carry out activity, it was agreed to expand the issuance of the Golden License and consider not limiting it to companies incorporated for setting up strategic or national projects. In addition, Articles No. (40), (41) and (42) regulating the Golden License shall be amended to ensure that companies established prior to Investment Law of 2017 may be granted Golden License.
Council of Ministers has been assigned to assess transferring the affiliation of the regulating entities of the utility sectors, in a way that ensures their independence, with the aim of strengthening the principle of separation between ownership and management in a number of the state sectors. In addition, a Draft Decree was approved on the amendment to some legal articles that grant preferential treatment to the state-owned companies and entities, with the aim of enhancing impartiality competitiveness in the Egyptian market.
A draft decree was approved to enact a law establishing a unit in the Council of Ministers to be responsible for collecting data of state-owned companies, in order to unify the frameworks for all state-owned companies. The decrees of such units will be binding on restructuring, whether by selling or transferring affiliation from one party to another, provided that the result of its work is submitted every 3 months to the President of the Republic and the Council of Ministers. Moreover, a draft decree was approved to enhance governance and transparency.
A draft decree was approved to overcome the difficulty of importing production requirements. Such decree will amend Law No. 7 of 2017, allowing foreign investor to be registered in the importers register, even if such investor does not hold the Egyptian nationality, for a period of 10 years. The aforementioned comes within the framework of exerted efforts to facilitate import procedures for foreign investors.
A draft decree was approved to encounter the additional burdens imposed on investors. Such decree will stipulate that no entity may issue general regulatory decisions that add financial or procedural burdens related to the establishment or operation of projects subject to the provisions of the investment law, or impose fees on such projects, or amend them, except after obtaining the opinion of the board of directors of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, and the approval of the Council of Ministers and Supreme Investment Council.
Regarding the same issue, and within the framework of alleviating the financial and tax burdens on investors, a draft regulatory decree was approved. Such decree set the mechanisms and controls for the cases of imposing improvement fees in accordance with the regulating laws, as well as the principles of calculating each case, and considering making classifications of the required values according to the purpose of investment, whether health, tourism, or hotel, and such decree will be disseminated to all administrative entities. This comes to get rid of the issue of the multiplicity of entities that impose improvement fees on investors, as the investor pays the same fees to several entities.
Moreover, a draft decree was approved directing the Ministry of Finance to create a clearing system between investors’ dues, taxes or other burdens for the benefit of government entities, with a time limit (45 days) to ensure the speedy refund of the value-added tax and speed up the procedures.
Within the framework of the efforts exerted to create a stable tax legislative environment, a draft decree was approved to expedite the announcement of the state's tax policy document for the next five years. This is to eliminate the instability of tax legislation, the multiplicity of entities entrusted to it, and to impose additional fees from various entities.
A draft decree to mandate the Ministry of Justice to promptly finalize the amendments to the dividends law for holding companies and subsidiaries, in order to ensure the reduction of tax burdens and the avoidance of double taxation. Such comes within the framework of stimulating domestic and foreign investment.
A draft decree to mandate the Ministry of Justice to amend the Civil and Commercial Proceedings Act 13/1968, which increases the pecuniary jurisdiction of economic and single-judge courts, and extends their subject-matter jurisdiction to include settling commercial and trade disputes. Moreover, the quorum required for appealing the judgments will be more restricted so as to make the means of settlement of trade disputes more effective, and thus, expedite contracts enforcement.
A draft decree to mandate the Ministry of Justice to issue a binding regulatory decree with clear controls to set a specific time limit for disbursing compensation to investors in cases of expropriation, of no more than 3 months, while obligating the administrative authorities to intensify negotiations with investors on appropriate compensation; which gives more confidence in the investment climate in Egypt.
A draft decision to benefit from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), to conclude a contract with a global consulting office; to develop a participatory vision and a clear strategy for investment in Egypt, as well as mechanisms to improve Egypt’s ranking in the ease of doing business (EODB) index in the coming years, in order to achieve the national target of raising investment rates to 25% - 30%.
The amendment of nine articles of Law No. 83 of 2005 on Economic Zones of a Special Nature has been considered, as well as the introduction of a number of additional articles to the law, which grants benefits and exemptions to the Economic Zone.
The establishment of a permanent unit in the Council of Ministers headed by GAFI CEO, specialized in setting appropriate policies, laws and regulations for the growth and prosperity of startups in Egypt, as well as receiving complaints from startups in coordination with the Investors’ Problem Solving Unit and developing appropriate solutions for each of them in coordination with the competent authorities.
Eventually, a package of incentives has been adopted in support of a number of sectors and projects, including those related to supporting the agricultural, industrial, and energy sectors with regard to green hydrogen production, in addition to the housing sector with regard to real estate developers and investment projects in new cities, as well as the transportation sector with regard to export fees and customs duties, and the unification of the pricing strategy.
