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Law No. 160 of 2023 is the most comprehensive overhaul of Egypt's umbrella foreign-investment framework since the original Investment Law No. 72 of 2017. The law operates through five structural instruments:
1. Golden / Single License expansion The Prime Minister may issue a single encompassing license directly to strategic and national projects, and to PPP projects in infrastructure, renewable energy, transportation, roads, and ports. Eligible projects no longer navigate a multi-ministry permit maze: GAFI coordinates all licences, permits, and authorisations and monitors compliance post-establishment. Eligibility requires Egyptian joint-stock or LLC formation post-2017, evidence of financial cash-flow, and an initial feasibility study by licensed experts.
2. General Incentives universalisation Stamp-duty exemptions, land-registration-fee relief, and reduced customs duties on imported capital goods now apply to all investment projects regardless of their date of establishment. Pre-2017 legacy projects previously excluded now qualify for this tier.
3. Special Incentives tax-credit schedule A cash investment incentive of 33–55% of income-tax dues for new industrial projects funded at least 50% from foreign-currency sources, commencing operations between 2023 and October 2026 (post-Decree 1203/2024 extension). The graduated rate reflects project location — Upper Egypt and frontier governorates attract higher rates — and labour-intensity criteria.
4. Free Zone unlock for energy-intensive sectors Petroleum manufacturing, fertilizers, iron and steel, LNG liquefaction/transportation, and other energy-intensive industries can now be established and operated under the Free Zones system with prior Supreme Council of Energy approval — overriding the prior categorical exclusion. This provision directly expands Egypt's competitive positioning as a hydrogen/ammonia/LNG export hub under the Egypt-EU Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership.
5. Infrastructure supplementary incentives Land-usage-fee exemption for up to 10 years; maximum 50% exemption from project contributions to infrastructure costs; Egyptian treasury cost-sharing covering 50% of utility expenses for up to 10 years.
Cabinet Decree No. 1203 of 2024 subsequently amended the Executive Regulations of Law No. 72 of 2017 to extend the Special Incentives qualification window from October 2023 to October 2026, effectively resetting the incentive runway for projects delayed by Egypt's macroeconomic turbulence in 2022–2023.
GAFI reports 44 Golden Licenses approved by December 2025. Notable examples:
manufacturing plant) and Deli Egypt Food Production (EGP 6.8bn agri-food facility) — combined EGP 15.1bn new investment.
2024-02-23-egypt-uae-ras-el-hekma-strategic-investment-deal) operates within this Golden License architecture.
2025-05-28-egypt-national-automotive-industry-strategy-2024-2030) deploys Special Incentives from this law to support domestic EV/ICE assembly.
LNG, and fertilizers is the legal precondition for Egypt's EU-facing green-hydrogen export pipeline — energy-intensive production can now access duty-free, tax-advantaged Free Zone cost structures.
2025-06-10-egypt-law-87-mineral-wealth-mining-industries-authority) deploys Golden License instruments for strategic mining concession awards — Law 160/2023 is the enabling statute.
Decree-Law 32/2021 (100% foreign ownership reform), Saudi Vision 2030 RHQ Programme, and Morocco's CRI investment regime. The single-license instrument mirrors UAE MISA and Saudi single-window regimes.
includes investment-climate reform as a structural benchmark; Law 160/2023 is the primary legislative deliverable against that conditionality.
of the October 2026 extension not independently verified.
not publish a public breakdown of incentive-tier usage.
in light of EGP devaluation and post-IMF stabilisation programme dynamics.