Another attempt to entice foreign investors: Foreign investors can now acquire year-long non-touristic residencies when proposing investment plans to the General Authority for Freezones and Investment (GAFI), Al Mal reported Saturday, citing a decision by the Interior Ministry. The residency can then be renewed for six-month or year-long periods depending on how long it takes to establish the business.

This isn’t the first move to make it easier for foreigners to come to Egypt: Earlier this year the Madbouly governmentmade it possible for foreigners to acquire the green passport if they establish a solo or joint investment project with an USD 350k investment in addition to depositing USD 100k into the state treasury. It came as part of a longer list of ways for foreigners to acquire citizenship in exchange of hard currency, that included property purchases and direct deposits.

The government last week announced a raft of decisions designed to attract foreign capital to the country and solve the ongoing currency crisis. The 22 changes encompass bureaucratic reform aimed at speeding up licensing and improving the transparency of state firms, new financial incentives for certain industries, and legal reforms to improve contract enforceability.

FDI is key for exiting the crisis: Along with its privatization program, the government is trying to boost FDI and export revenues in a bid to increase inflows of foreign currency. Greater FX inflows will help ease the pressure on the EGP and stamp out the black market, giving the Central Bank of Egypt more room to float the currency and resume the IMF program.

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