| Since 1952,foreign investment laws have played an important role in Egypt.Egypt has enacted many laws and regulations applicable to foreign investment.Before 1952,Egypt had laws involving foreign investment.Law No.131 of 1948(Civil Code)was one of the main source of legal rules applicable to contracts.There was the establishment stage of foreign investment laws in the Nasser era,and the main relevant laws include Law No.2108 of 1960 and so on.Law No.2108 of 1960 implemented limited to foreign capital strictly,subject to the approval to investment in Egypt by the President of the republic.There was watershed in the course of Egypt’s foreign investment laws in the Sadat era,which changed from restricting foreign capital to encouraging foreign investment.During this period,the foreign investment laws and regulations implemented in Egypt include Law No.43 of 1974(Concerning the Investment of Arab and Foreign Funds and the Free Zones),Law No.159 of 1981(On Joint Stock Companies,Partnerships Limited By Shares&Limited liability Companies),etc.,of which Law No.43 of 1974 was one of the most important foreign investment laws.Law No.43 of 1974 aimed to promote foreign investments through special legal incentives and preferences,and providing tax privileges to investors as an incentive to invest in Egypt.Egypt’s foreign investment laws continued to evolve in the Mubarak era.During this period,more than 40 relevant laws were implemented in Egypt,mainly including:Law No.8 of 1997(Investments Guarantees and Incentives Law),Law No.95 of 1992(Law of Capital Market)and Law No.27 of 1994(Arbitration in Civil and Commercial Procedures),etc.,of which Law No.8 of 1997 was one of the most important foreign investment laws.Law No.8 of 1997 encouraged foreign investment inflows by increasing the number of areas allowed for foreign investment,expanding the scope of investment incentives,and reforming the country’s domestic legal frameworks governing foreign investments.Law No.72 of 2017(Promulgating the Investment Law)was one of the most important part of the readjust of Egypt’s foreign investment laws after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi took office in 2014.Law No.72 of 2017 streamlined the administrative procedure for the admission and operation of foreign investments,increased transparency and legal certainty as it merged the main rules for the entry,promotion,and protection of foreign investments.Egypt has plural foreign investment dispute settlement mechanisms,mainly including litigation,arbitration,mediation and other ways.Egyptian legislator created Economic Courts to settle economic disputes pursuant to Law No.120 of 2008.Arbitration is usually the main means of resolving investment disputes other than litigation,based on international conventions to which Egypt has acceded and on the amended Law No.27 of 1994(Arbitration in Civil and Commercial Procedures).Law No.27 of 1994 provided for the arbitration system and basic mechanisms in Egypt.Investors could apply to the relevant authorities for mediation procedures in accordance with the Mediation Rules.The implementation and adjustment of Egypt’s foreign investment laws were the result of the adjustment of political strategy,the need of economic development and transformation,and the trend of foreign relations and globalization.During the Nasser era,Egypt adopted the policy of nationalization and expropriation of foreign enterprises,and introduced foreign investment laws to restrict foreign investment in Egypt.Egypt promulgated foreign investment laws and began to introduce foreign investment in limited ways through al-Infitah in the Sadat era.Egypt as one of the developing countries depends heavily on foreign investment.In order to adapt to the pace of Egypt’s economic reform and social transformation,Egypt’s foreign investment laws gradually promoted market-oriented adjustment and reform in the Mubarak era.In the wake of the post-Mubarak era,Egypt has established legal frameworks and foundations for creating favorable business environment for attracting increased FDI flows in a sustainable way.The evolution of Egypt’s foreign investment law not only reflected the progress of the rule of law principle in Egypt,but also reflected the predicament of development model with special national conditions of Egypt.This paper draws the following conclusions:First,Egypt’s foreign investment laws have the following characteristics,such as the equality of the legal status of domestic and foreign investment,the existence of systematic investment laws,and the combination of guarantees and incentives functions.Second,the changes of Egypt’s foreign investment laws adapt to the development trend of the modernization of Egypt and international economic globalization.Third,the implementation of Egypt’s foreign investment laws reflected the changes of Egypt’s economic strategy,and also reflected the significant problems existing in Egypt’s economic strategy.The changes of foreign investment laws in Egypt have provided important enlightenment for the developing countries.First,the distribution of foreign investment flows was extremely disproportionate and uneven.Second,foreign investment laws should improve the domestic business environment systematically.Third,foreign investment laws should be consistent with national conditions and protect national economic sovereignty. |
