Four priorities in government program for boosting influx of investment

The Atef Ebeid government declared at the meeting of the ministerial committee for supporting and encouraging influx of investment that it was committed to stabilizing all policies regulating investment climate and maintaining investment influx in the various domains.

The government, further, affirmed its commitment not to take any sudden decisions. It said any decision pertaining to public interest should be characterized by full transparency and should be considered by the investment community.

At the beginning of the meeting, Ebeid affirmed that the government was primarily concerned with eliminating any obstacles which hinder influx of investments or stability of investments conditions through a full dressed plan based on assessment of the legislative aspect of these positions and the nature of relations between the state bodies and investors.

Ebeid said the government program for carrying out these goals includes a number of priorities aimed at boosting investments. These priorities are:

-Amending legislation that involve investors community for tackling inconsistencies in application on the ground.

-Organizing the state machinery relation with investors through the establishment of one body for dealing with them or canceling their dealings with some bodies and the selection of skilled cadres in these bodies.

-Making a reassessment of investment offices in the governorates and avoiding inconsistencies which have emerged in the past stage.

-Reaching an ideal formula for a stable and positive legislative relationship organizing rights and duties of labor and employers.

Immediately after the meeting, Minister of Information Safwat Al Sherif said the federation of industries and representatives of Chambers of Commerce in all public and private investment sectors have been assigned with forming working groups which consider and submit proposals and draft laws to be amended in the upcoming four weeks.

Sherif said the Prime Minister told the meeting that the expanded economic group would consider those proposals at successive periodical meetings. He added the economic group should make its decisions on those proposals by the end of June 2000.

Sherif said Ebeid listened to the views of investors who took part in the meetings of the Ministerial committee and tackled issues such as the higher investment costs as a result of imposing sales tax on capital goods.

Ebeid said labor incentives in remote areas will be maintained. At the end of the meeting, assigned investment authority with forming a secretariat general and organizing joint meetings with investment corporations and receiving papers of any new projects.