Egypt’s introduction of new legislation and the promotion of a series of key investment projects are part of efforts to tackle bureaucracy in the country, according to the executive director of the agency responsible for attracting inward investment into the Arab world’s most populous countr

Egypt ranks 128th out of 190 countries on the World Bank's 2018 Ease of doing Business Index and 100th out of 137 countries in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Index list, but the General Authority for Investment & Free Zones (GAFI's) CEO, Mona Zobaa says conditions for foreign investors into Egypt are improving.

Mona Zobaa said that "Over the past period, we have succeeded in furnishing a new investment law that caters well for the investor. It provides electronic services, ensures that the investor gets a good incentive package; provides him with necessary guarantees regarding licenses, approvals and incorporation. It is mandated by law, for example, that (company) incorporation takes only one day.”

She added that other, investor-friendly measures have also been taken, including a new bankruptcy law issued in January and a new movable collateral registry created last month to help banks make better lending decisions to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

She argued that the new laws being introduced, which have included an amended capital markets law passed last month, are providing more transparency for investors, and pointed to a number of positive economic indicators.

A booklet distributed by GAFI and Egypt's Ministry for Investment and International Corporation at AIM stated that net foreign direct investment (FDI) into Egypt grew by 14 percent in 2016-17 (the most recent year for which figures are available) to $7.9 billion. Zobaa said that this had recovered from just $2.2 billion in net FDI invested in 2010/11, but it remains below the $13.2 billion of net FDI attracted into the country in 2007/08 - before the onset of the global financial crisis and the periods of civil unrest that began in Egypt in 2011.

Source : Zawya