The investment incentives announced on Tuesday by the Supreme Investment Council are a “pleasant surprise” to the market, EGX chief Mohamed Omran told Reuters. Omran’s comment comes after the Council’s decision to postpone the implementation of the capital gains tax for a further three years until 2020. The freeze on the 10% tax was first imposed in July 2014. The decision is a proactive one meant to “ensure the success of future offerings in the market, whether governmental or private offerings," he said. Bloomberg also has the story in English.

Measures get thumbs-up from business: Leaders of prominent business associations have come out publically in support of the 17 pro-investment policies announced by the council, Al Borsa reports. The package includes both investment incentive and tax breaks. Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce head Ahmed El Wakeel called for a clear roadmap to implement the policies, while Egyptian Businessmen’s Association head Ali Eissa called for these decisions to be enshrined in law. No date was given on the implementation of the policies. A notable detractor was Hany Tawfik, chairman of Acumen-Beltone, who complained the measures don’t go far enough.

What’s still unclear to us is how the measures will impact the Finance Ministry’s fiscal targets for FY 2016-17, especially as the policies handed down by the council take precedent over the entire executive branch of government, according to article four of the presidential decree forming the council. As a matter of fact, Finance Minister Amr El Garhy was reportedly not present at the meeting despite being a member of the council, sources tell Al Mal. The Finance Ministry was allegedly not consulted on the measures; as of last night, the ministry had not commented on the package of investment incentives and tax breaks.

Work has begun to implement some of the policies. The New Administrative Capital’s development company has implemented the 25% discount on land in the first phase of the project. Government sources say the will be good for three months after the first tenders go out, which expected to take place in December, Al Borsa reports. Meanwhile, NI Capital has begun valuing the assets of the four power companies that have been added to the list of IPOs.