Egypt to Establish Stable Tax System, Clear Investment Incentives

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly with CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, Hossam Haiba (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly with CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, Hossam Haiba (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Egypt to Establish Stable Tax System, Clear Investment Incentives

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly with CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, Hossam Haiba (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly with CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, Hossam Haiba (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Egypt is currently developing several proposals to improve its investment climate, including a stable tax system and clear investment incentives, announced the CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, Hossam Haiba.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly met with Haiba and the accompanying delegation and reviewed some procedures and measures to improve the investment climate in Egypt, including the mechanism for allocating land for investment projects and developing the system for issuing the required licenses.

Haiba asserted that the procedures and measures are essential for marketing and promoting a stable tax system and clear investment incentives, noting that a joint committee was formed from the Investment Authority and the tax and customs authorities for this purpose.

He said they would also address the investors' issues, adding that they must consider some legislative amendments related to the investment climate.

Haiba listed some of the offers the Investment Authority received from companies in several sectors before launching or expanding their activity in Egypt.

He referred to the requests submitted to the authority to establish industrial investment projects, especially in the 10th of Ramadan City, given its distinguished infrastructure and proximity to many ports and roads.

The Prime Minister welcomed any new investments, especially in the industrial sector, pointing out that the state has worked to provide facilities and incentives to attract investments in various sectors during the last period.

Madbouly stated that the 10th of Ramadan City, among other cities, enjoys promising opportunities for industrial investments.

The Premier said that his government is working to simplify investment procedures, especially those related to industrial projects while communicating with the business community and industrialists to overcome any challenges they face in implementing their projects.

Meanwhile, the CEO of the Saudi Egyptian Developers Company, Mohammed el-Taher, revealed that the company achieved sales worth EGP12 billion during the year 2022, despite all the challenges faced by the real estate sector during the past year.

Taher emphasized that these numbers reflect customers' confidence in the company, which has presented more than 50 real estate projects that included 23,764 residential, commercial, and administrative units in various governorates.

Saudi Egyptian Developers is among the top ten companies in sales in 2022.

The CEO added that the company fully trusts the Egyptian market and has expansion plans during the coming period, through which it seeks to provide housing units that meet the requirements of various customers and support the local economy.

The Saudi Egyptian Developers pumped new investments in 2022 amounting to about EGP1.3 billion, and the company is currently working on establishing and developing seven projects that include more than 5,000 residential, administrative, and commercial units.

The company is currently preparing to open the Nile Pearl Hotel.

The Saudi Egyptian Developers Company is an Egyptian joint stock company established in 1975 under an international agreement between the governments of Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

The company increased its capital more than once and currently reached EGP1.9 billion.



Gold Extends Gains as Trump Tariffs Fuel Safe Haven Flows

Gold bars from the vault of a bank are seen in this illustration picture taken in Zurich November 20, 2014. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo
Gold bars from the vault of a bank are seen in this illustration picture taken in Zurich November 20, 2014. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo
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Gold Extends Gains as Trump Tariffs Fuel Safe Haven Flows

Gold bars from the vault of a bank are seen in this illustration picture taken in Zurich November 20, 2014. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo
Gold bars from the vault of a bank are seen in this illustration picture taken in Zurich November 20, 2014. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo

Gold prices rose for a second straight session on Tuesday, but traded below the recent all-time highs, as uncertainty around US President Donald Trump's tariff plans continued to fuel economic growth concerns and safe haven flows into bullion.

Spot gold gained 0.6% at $2,913.79 an ounce as of 0714 GMT. It hit a record high of $2,942.70 last week.

US gold futures added 0.9% to $2,925.50.

"Trump's disruptive modus operandi, aggressive rhetoric and tariffs - whether actual or threatened - could unravel global trade and intricate supply chains," said Nikos Tzabouras, senior financial writer at trading platform Tradu, Reuters reported.

"With uncertainty surrounding the global economy and the broader geopolitical landscape in the Trump 2.0 era, gold is set to remain a natural beneficiary of risk-off flows and central bank buying."

Since taking office last month, Trump has swiftly redrawn the global trade battlefield with a series of tariffs, while plans are already in motion for sweeping reciprocal tariffs, aimed squarely at any nation that taxes US products.

"Gold continues to benefit from the uncertainty surrounding the US. government's tariff policy. Central bank buying should also continue to provide support, even if there is no new data on this," Commerzbank analysts said in a note.

The market's focus has now shifted to the US Federal Reserve's January meeting minutes due on Wednesday for clues into the central bank's interest rate trajectory.

"Price gains are also supported by growing expectations that the Fed will cut rates in 2025 - a sentiment that gained further traction among traders after last week's disappointing US retail sales figures," Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at brokerage firm ActivTrades, said.

Bullion benefits from geopolitical and economic uncertainties, as well as rising price pressures, but higher interest rates diminish the asset's allure.

Spot silver fell 0.9% to $32.50 an ounce. Platinum jumped 0.9% to $985.20 and palladium climbed 1.6% to $978.00.