The first meeting of the Higher Investment Council, chaired by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, was held on Tuesday, May 16, with the attendance of Mustafa Madbouly, the Prime Minister, Hassan Abdullah, the Governor of the Central Bank, ministers, officials, and private sector representatives as council members.

The following decisions were taken in the meeting of the Higher Investment Council under the leadership of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi:

1. Regarding restrictions on company establishment، the council approved a draft resolution to study the amendment of some articles of the Executive Regulations of Investment Law No. 72 of 2017 and a draft resolution to amend Article No. 34 of Investment Law No. 72 of 2017 to allow licensing of natural gas-based industries as one of the production inputs to operate in free zones.

2. With regard to multiplicity of approvals and delays in obtaining them, the council approved a decision to be applied to all bodies to set a specific time frame for all approvals of 10 working days, one time only upon establishment, to instill more confidence in the investment climate in Egypt, with guidance to the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones to cooperate with all relevant bodies to establish a "unified electronic platform for establishment, operation, and liquidation of projects" and to approve amendments to the Electronic Signature Law (Law No. 15 of 2004) and refer it to parliament to reduce bureaucratic barriers and simplify procedures.

3.Regarding land allocation, the Ministry of Justice was tasked with preparing a set of necessary legislative amendments to overcome restrictions related to land ownership and facilitate foreign ownership of real estate. As for activity permits, approval was given to expand the issuance of the Golden License and consider not restricting it to companies that establish strategic or national projects, and to amend Articles 40, 41, and 42 regulating the Golden License to ensure that companies established before the Investment Law of 2017 are granted the Golden License.

.4 The Council of Ministers was tasked with studying the transfer of the regulatory bodies of utility sectors to enhance their independence، with the aim of strengthening the separation between ownership and administration in a number of state sectors، as well as approving a draft resolution to amend some legal articles that grant preferential treatment to companies and entities owned by the state, with the aim of enhancing competitive neutrality in the Egyptian market.

5. In order to unify the framework for all state-owned companies, a draft resolution was approved to issue a law establishing a unit within the Cabinet that collects data on state-owned companies. The unit's decisions will be binding on restructuring, whether through sale or transfer of ownership from one entity to another. The results of its work must be submitted every three months to the President and the Cabinet. Approval was also given to a draft resolution to enhance governance and transparency.

6. To address the difficulty of importing production supplies, a draft resolution was approved to amend Article 7 of the Investment Law No. 72 of 2017, allowing foreign investors to be registered in the importers' registry, even if they do not hold Egyptian nationality, for a period of 10 years. This comes as part of efforts to facilitate import procedures for foreign investors.

7. To mitigate additional burdens imposed on investors, a draft resolution was approved stating that no regulatory body may issue general regulatory decisions that impose financial or procedural burdens related to the establishment or operation of projects subject to the Investment Law, or impose fees or charges on them or modify them, without consulting the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones and obtaining the approval of the Cabinet and the Supreme Council for Investment.

8. In connection with the same subject, and in order to reduce financial and tax burdens on investors, a binding regulatory resolution was approved with clear mechanisms and controls in cases of imposing improvement fees in accordance with the regulating laws, and the basis for calculating each case, and considering the classification of the required values according to the purpose of the investment, whether health, tourism, or hotel. This will be applied to all administrative bodies to eliminate the issue of multiple bodies imposing improvement fees on investors, where the investor pays the same fees to several bodies.

9. Approval was also given to a draft resolution to direct the Ministry of Finance to establish a settlement system between investors' dues and any tax or other burdens they owe to government entities, with a time limit of 45 days to expedite the VAT refund process and accelerate procedures.

10. As part of efforts to create a stable legislative tax environment, approval was given to a draft resolution to accelerate the announcement of the state's tax policy document for the next five years, in order to eliminate instability in tax legislation and the multiplicity of responsible bodies and additional fees imposed by different entities.

11- A resolution project to commission the Ministry of Justice to quickly finalize amendments to the law on transferring profits to holding and subsidiary companies, ensuring the reduction of tax burdens and avoiding double taxation, as part of efforts to stimulate local and foreign investment.

12- A resolution project to commission the Ministry of Justice to amend Law No. 13 of 1968 on civil and commercial litigation, allowing for an increase in the jurisdiction of economic and partial courts and expanding their objective jurisdiction to resolve commercial disputes, with an increase in the threshold for non-appealable cases, in order to enhance mechanisms for resolving commercial disputes and expedite contract enforcement.

13- A resolution project to commission the Ministry of Justice to issue a mandatory regulatory decision with clear guidelines for setting a specific time frame for compensating investors in cases of expropriation, not to exceed 3 months, and obliging administrative bodies to intensify negotiations with investors for appropriate compensation, in order to instill more confidence in the investment climate in Egypt.

14- A resolution project to utilize the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to contract with a global consulting firm to develop a shared vision and clear investment strategy for Egypt, and mechanisms to improve Egypt's ranking in the Ease of Doing Business index in the coming years, to achieve the national target of raising investment rates to between 25% and 30%.

15- A study to amend 9 articles of Law No. 83 of 2005 on Special Economic Zones, with the addition of several additional provisions to the text of the law, granting advantages and exemptions to the economic zone.

16- The establishment of a permanent unit within the Cabinet, led by the CEO of the General Authority for Investment, to develop policies, laws, and regulations suitable for the growth and prosperity of startups in Egypt, as well as receive complaints from startups in coordination with the unit for resolving investor problems and develop appropriate solutions for each of them in coordination with relevant authorities.

17- The adoption of a package of incentives to support several sectors and projects, including support for the agricultural, industrial, and energy sectors, particularly in relation to green hydrogen production, as well as the housing sector and real estate developers and investment projects in new cities, in addition to the transportation sector regarding export fees and customs, and unifying pricing strategies.