Egypt open for business

Investment and International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr stressed that Egypt is open for business and that she is working on improving the business environment and ditching bureaucracy.

In an interview with Bloomberg network on the fringe of her visit to the US, she said the parliament is examining an investment law.

She said Egypt is open for business, noting that she was working on re-branding Egypt, improving the business environment and making sure that more investments come in from the US and other countries.

Nasr added that she is working on the legal and regulatory front, putting forward investment laws, bankruptcy and insolvency law and amended companies law; mainly to remove all bureaucracy and red-tape which the private sector has had concerns about over the past years.

Asked about the timetable for having reforms in place, she said “We are moving fast, it is time sensitive. The parliament is currently discussing the investment law and it is already finalized at the economic committee and it is going to the general assembly very soon.”

She went on to explain that “the others are in the pipeline because we are looking at the legal framework in a coherent manner, so it is not just the investment law, but it is other laws for example that affect financial inclusion.”

She said “three days ago, we have got the cabinet approval for amending the capital market law because that would also address many concerns of minority shareholders’ rights for example, allowing new financial products to allow financial diversification and financial inclusion because this is one of the challenges the private sector has faced over the past decades.”

Asked about the 12-billion dollar loan offered by the International Monetary Fund to Egypt, she said “We have been working very closely with the World Bank on the budget support program that supports a major economic reforms - unprecedented reforms that have not happened in decades that had been labelled by the World Bank executive board as the most ambitious.”

She added “We have already released the first two tranches based on the program that is home-grown; a program that has been prepared not just by the government but has also been done in extensive consultations with people, stakeholders, civil society and private sector. And was also discussed extensively at the parliament.”

“The third tranche is on its way,” she said, noting that “it focuses mainly on improving the business climate, governance, accountability and transparency, because that is one area the political leadership is dedicated to accomplish.”

It will take four months to get the third tranche because the second tranche has recently been released and there should be a time lapse between the tranches, she said.

Asked about sectors most attractive to investment in Egypt, she said “we are focusing on sectors that will create jobs in the coming period because that jobs are a priority. The whole program focuses on job creation and sustainability in order to achieve sustainable and comprehensive growth.”

Nasr added that she focuses also on the energy sector in first place, then comes the industries sector, especially in Upper Egypt, because it creates jobs, and finally on the transport sector because connectivity among cities is vital for achieving development.

Asked about tourism in Egypt, she said tourism has been taking up lately and this is very significant and this is reflected in the figures announced by the tourism minister.

Source: MENA