It's Sahel time for our elected representatives — here’s what they got up to over the past year: The House of Representatives held its final session on Tuesday before breaking for the annual three-month summer recess. Lawmakers passed some 188 bills during the cycle, according to House Speaker Hanafi Gebali. The current legislative session saw measures to boost investment and economic reform at the forefront of our lawmakers’ agendas.

Here’s a rundown of the key bills impacting the business community, the economy, and wider society:

BUSINESS + FINANCE

INVESTMENT ACT AMENDMENTS- Amendments to the Investment Actaim to improvethe investment climate, support private-sector participation, and promote fairness, competition and transparency in the economy. The bill will also allow projects predating the 2017 act to benefit from its incentives and expand eligibility for golden licenses. The amendments are one of 22 moves to reform the business climate proposed by the Supreme Investment Council in its first ever meeting in May.

COMPETITION ACT- Amendments to the Competition Actpassed late last year grant the Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) the power to block M&As that it believes could be anti-competitive or encourage monopolistic practices.

AUTOMOTIVE LEGISLATION- MPs approved legislation that will see the establishment of a new regulatory body — dubbed the Supreme Council for Vehicle Manufacturing — to set policy for the local automotive industry (including EV assembly), as well as set up a new fund to offer incentives to companies in the business of assembling environmentally-friendly cars. A second piece of automotive legislation that got the go ahead allowed Egyptian expats to import new cars and get an eventual rebate on all related fees if they pay upfront in FX, an initiative that raised USD 900 mn in FX.

SIMPLIFIED PROPERTY REGISTRATION IN NEW CITIES- Amendments to a 2018 law will simplify the real estate registry and notarization process in new cities. Under the changes, owners of property and plots of land in new cities will no longer be required to interact with real estate registry and notarization offices and will only need to submit registration paperwork to the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA).

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AUTHORITY- The House signed off on a bill that willmergeinstitutions currently responsible for regulating intellectual property rights into a single entity. The new body would also be responsible for advancing technological innovation, scientific research and cultural development as part of a wider five-year intellectual property strategy.

CONTRACTOR COMPENSATION BILL- Amendments to the 2017 Contractors Compensationbill will allow construction firms who have suffered losses on state projects due to recent economic reforms to receive compensation from the government. Amendments to the law — which was originally drafted for economic reforms undertaken in 2016 — will be extended to cover all periods of reform.

TAXATION

TAX AND DUTY HIKES- A raft of tax, duty and development fee hikes cleared the House in May. Among the changes:

  • Income tax: A new 27.5% higher rate of income tax and a higher personal tax exemption threshold.
  • Entertainment tax: A 5-20% tax on entry to entertainment venues such as theaters, sports events, parks and clubs.
  • Duties + development fees: New fees on duty-free and luxury goods.

And a (very modest) tax cut: MPs greenlit a reduction in capital gains tax on newly-listed companies to increase investor subscription to IPOs.

TAX EXEMPTIONS- The House of Representatives signed off on a bill that will eliminate tax exemptions for state entities (see story above). The bill is not set to impact projects that are subject to international agreements, are defense- or national-security-related, or involve the construction of basic infrastructure. We have more on that bill in the news well, above.

DABAA TAX EXEMPTIONS- MPs earlier this year approved a bill that would grant taxexemptions to local and international companies involved with the construction of the Dabaa nuclear power plant.

DEVELOPMENT + INFRASTRUCTURE

LOADS OF DEVELOPMENT LOANS AND FINANCING- Bns of USD of fresh borrowing from multilateral lenders was approved by the House for projects spanning climate resilience, infrastructure, and public transit. Some of the largest financing agreements given the greenlight include USD 900 mn of borrowing from the World Bank‘s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) to expand the Takaful and Karama subsidy program and build a railway line between the Port of Alexandria and the Sixth of October dry port; a USD 310 mn loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency for the universal health ins. scheme; a USD 271 mn loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) aimed at bolstering food security; and an EUR 250 mn loanfrom the French Development Agency (AFD) for the Alexandria-Abu Qir metro line.

OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION- MPs approved a number of bills greenlighting fresh oil and gas exploration in the Mediterranean and the Western Desert. See here and here.

RIVER TRANSPORT ACT- Amendments designed to draw more investment into the country’s waterways were approved by MPs and signed into law. The changes will open up the river transport sector to private investment and put the River Transport Authority (RTA) in charge of licensing river boats, Nile cruises and floating units.

AGRICULTURE LAW- Amendments to the Agriculture Law will see heftier fines doled out to people caught building on agricultural lands. Penalties range between EGP 500k and EGP 10 mn in addition to up to five years in prison.

EAST PORT SAID PORT DEVELOPMENT- The House approved a bill that allows the Suez Canal Economic Zone to give a 30-year contract to Sky Logistics and Reliance Logistics to design, construct, manage, operate and maintain a new multipurpose terminal worth USD 65 mn at the port. A second bill paves the way for Maersk’s Suez Canal Container Terminal to begin construction on a new USD 500 mn terminal.

SOCIAL + POLITICAL

WAGE AND PENSION HIKES- MPs in March approved measuresthat will raise salaries and the minimum wage for public-sector workers, hike pension payments by 15%, and increase allocations to social protection programs. To make this happen, the House also approved legislative amendments allowing the government to borrow an extra EGP 165 bn for the final quarter of the current fiscal year — EGP 70 bn of which will be used to increase funding to social protection programs and EGP 10 bn designated for wage hikes. The remaining borrowing was used to cover debt repayments through to the end of the fiscal year.

CITIZENSHIP ACT- Amendments to the Citizenship Act make it easier for foreigners to gain citizenship by purchasing assets worth at least USD 300k, or by investing at least USD 350k in local projects and depositing USD 100k into the state treasury. The move comes as part of the government’s efforts to attract hard currency.

DISABILITY FUND- The House approved a billthat will set up an EGP 1 bn fund to support people with disabilities to enter the job market and run SMEs among other forms of social and financial support.

DOG OWNERSHIP REGULATIONS- New legislation passed by the House earlier this yeartightens restrictions on dog ownership, requiring owners to purchase licenses and banning anyone under the age of 18 from walking dogs outdoors unsupervised. The new rules also include fines of at least EGP 10k for people who fail to obtain licenses and fines worth up to EGP 4 mn plus jail time if their dog attacks another person.

CIVIL STATUS LAW- An amendment to the Civil Status Law approved by the House will require citizens to get their national ID cards at 15 years old instead of 16 years old.

AND LAST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LESAT: FAKE WEATHER NEWS- A bill approved by the House designed to regulate the General Meteorological Authority will impose fines ranging between EGP 100k and EGP 5 mnon those caught spreading “fake weather news” or inaccurate weather reporting.

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