Priority given to foreign investors in Egypt's most recent economic changes

In an effort to increase the contribution of the private sector to Egypt's economy, a series of legislative and economic changes have prioritized foreign investment.

The country's laws will be changing, according to the announcement made by the prime minister on Wednesday. They are designed to hasten company creation, land purchase, and the granting of governmental licenses to foreign investors and private sector businesses.

According to Mr. Madbouly, the revisions were made in response to many complaints from Egyptian and international investors in the private sector who claimed that excessive bureaucracy, complex tax regulations, and favoritism of state-owned businesses were preventing them from making investments in Egypt.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, who chairs the Supreme Council of Investment, a formerly dormant government body created in 2017 and reactivated earlier this year, declared after its meeting on Tuesday that it had reached a consensus on 22 decisions to encourage private sector participation in the economy without providing any additional information.

The International Monetary Fund's agreement to grant Egypt another tranche of finance worth $3 billion earlier this year was contingent in large part on the private sector's expansion and state enterprises' decline.

A regulation that prohibited foreigners from legally owning more than two homes in Egypt, each in a separate city, has been changed as part of the most recent reforms. 

Mr. Madbouly added that land designated for industrial developments has been set aside and priced consistently, which was also a past criticism from international investors who would receive wildly varying prices.

For investors who do not wish to purchase land altogether, a usufruct option has also been started. A person who has been granted usufruct has the temporary right to utilize and profit from the property of another person.

Foreign investment in Egypt has been hampered by lengthy processing timeframes, which have come from both governmental agencies and banks when investors seek to set up financing mechanisms to begin businesses, according to Mr. Madbouly.