The Egyptian parliament approved on Sunday a long-delayed law aimed at improving and easing procedures of doing businesses as part of an economic reform plan adopted by the Arab worlds most populous nation to revive its battered economy after years of turmoil.
The new law is expected to boost much needed investments by cutting down bureaucracy, especially for new projects, along with providing more incentives to business people to invest in Egypt, Reuters reported. (Read more here)
The law will also offer tax cuts on certain industrial sectors, in the form of tax reductions that could be equal to 40 percent of business costs. (Read more here)
Import-dependent Egypt has battled to attract hard currency and revive its economy since a 2011 popular uprising drove tourists and investors away.
Over the last three years, President Abdel Fattah Al Sisis government adopted an economic reform plan that included subsidy cuts and floating the Egyptian pound. Last year, Egypt secured approval for a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and is expecting the second installment of the loan by the second half of June. (Read more here and here)
Egypt's investment law was first issued by the government in 2015 and was later amended. The law aims to facilitate business-related regulations and licenses and has long been demanded by the Egyptian business community.
The Egyptian minister of transport Hesham Arafaat told Zawya last March that the parliament was expected to finalise the investment law by the end of March. But later in April, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail told Reuters that the law is expected to be issued in May. (Read more here and here)
