The House of Representatives yesterday gave final approval to a trio of bills, including changes to the importers registry that will allow foreign investors to become importers, an extension for the expat car-for-FX initiative, and the rights to develop and manage the Safaga Port, and several other agreements. Below is a breakdown of the bills that got the thumbs up:

#1- Foreign investors can now become importers (with caveats): MPs voted in favor of allowing non-Egyptian investors to become registered importers for a ten-year period that could be renewed once. The law will also allow them to hold stakes of up to 49% in trading companies that import into Egypt. This includes limited liability companies, joint stock companies, and sole proprietorships. The bill is part of the 22 measures drawn up by the Supreme Investment Council in May to help attract more foreign direct investment into the country.

#2- Extension of car import scheme: The House approved a bill that would let Prime Minister Madbouly extend the expat car-for-FX initiative for three months. The program would allow Egyptians living abroad to import cars tax-free on the condition that they deposit the equivalent of saved duties and taxes in a five-year FX certificate of deposit. The second iteration of the program is expected to generate USD 1.1 bn in hard currency receipts, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Alaaeddin Fouad said at the session. That’s a bit more than the top end of the USD 450 mn to USD 1 bn range on which a senior official guided us earlier this week.

A hard-won yes: The bill ran into loud opposition from MPs, including from House Economic Committee chair Mohamed Soliman, who voiced doubt about the extension generating sufficient FX revenues. “We will approve this bill only to not embarrass the Finance Ministry, which had previously claimed it would generate USD 2.5 bn,” said Soliman.

Remember: The first round of the scheme, which wrapped up in May raised around USD 900mn — a little over a third of the USD 2.5 bn targeted by the Finance Ministry.

#3- Development of the Safaga Port: The draft bill will hand an Abu Dhabi Ports-ledconsortium with Golden Anchor Ships Operator and Silver Anchor Facilities Management the right through its Safaga Stations Operating Company to develop, build, manage, and operate the Safaga Port for thirty years.

What’s next? The three bills will now be sent to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to be ratified into law. The House has also adjourned sessions until Sunday, 29 October.

ALSO APPROVED BY THE HOUSE-

AfDB capital increase: A presidential decree was approved to increase Egypt’s contribution to the paid-up capital of the African Development Bank (AfDB). The Madbouly government will purchase 19.7k shares from AfDB for USD 16.8 mn in two installments.

Financing for Takaful and Karama: A USD 500 mn loan from theWorld Bank toexpand the Takaful and Karama program was given the green light.

Vienna pact on traffic signals: The House approved the Vienna Conventions of 1968 to adopt a unified international system of traffic signals and road standards to help us become a regional logistics hub.

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