Egypt

Egypt

Amendments to Egypt's Investment Law - No. 8 of 1997

13 Mar 2015

The amendment, adopted in March 2015, adds a new Chapter to the Investment Law under the title “Investment Disputes Settlement”, creating alternative out-of-court forums to settle investor-state disputes. The chapter created three out-of-court forums to encourage settlement of investment disputes with the government, namely (1) a Complaint Committee, which is competent to consider challenges against administrative decisions issued by the General Authority for Investment (GAFI) in connection with the implementation of the Investment Law and its executive regulations (2) The Committee for Resolution of Investment Disputes, a ministerial committee which will be created at the Cabinet of Ministers to consider requests, complaints or disputes that may arise between an investor and a governmental body in connection with the implementation of the Investment Law. The familiar short name of this committee is the Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC), and (3) The Committee for Settlement of Investment Contract Disputes, a ministerial committee which will be established and charged with settling disputes between investors and governmental bodies arising out of investment contracts.

The reference in the Investment Law to investor-state treaty arbitration or the ICSID has been removed.

Further, the amendment reduces customs duties on equipment used for production to 2 percent (from previously 5 percent); offers non-tax incentives to labour-intensive projects or investments in remote areas or in certain sectors such as energy, agriculture and transportation.

Also, it authorizes the GAFI to act as a one-stop-shop from which investors, in certain sectors, can get all licenses and approvals needed to establish and run their business.

Nature of measure:
  • Facilitation
Type:
  • Treatment and operation (Dispute settlement)
  • Promotion and facilitation (Investment incentives)
Inward FDI:
No
Outward FDI:
No
Sources: