The cabinet has approved, under Premier Sherif Ismail, the final draft of the executive regulations of the new investment law. At a press conference on Thursday 17/08/2017, Nasr said the draft will be referred to the State Council.
All authorities concerned approved the draft. The Minister said the new law includes a package of incentives for investing in most needy areas, adding that the law will also prop up the Suez Canal Economic Zone. Nasr added that the law will also support investors and the private sector. It is to be noted that Investment and International Cooperation Minister Dr.Sahar Nasr announced on Thursday that direct foreign investments in Egypt rose by 26% this year compared with last year to stand at 8.7 billion dollars.
Speaking on the sidelines of the weekly cabinet meeting, Nasr said coordination among Egyptian ministries, the private sector and investors was among the main reasons that caused the increase in direct foreign investments. On the other hand, The cabinets Information and Decision Support Centre (IDSC) released on Friday, several economic indicators that show the gradual improvement as a result of the reform programme launched by the Egyptian government. The IDSC said that the economic growth rate reached 4.9 percent during the fourth quarter of the 2016-2017 fiscal year.
The foreign exchange reserves increased to 36 billion dollars, hitting its best record since 2011, The Balance of Payments (BOP) achieved an overall surplus of 11 billion dollars. The reform programme aims to reduce the unemployment rates to 6.7 percent in 2020-2021, the inflation rate to 7 percent, the public debt to 78.3 percent, as well as increasing the economic growth to 6 percent, investment rate to 19.6 percent, and the exports volume to $60.2 billion, it said.
