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Friday, 17 March 2017

Beyond the Rubicon: Deja Vu All Over Again

By Aly El Shalakany

In Egypt, we like to keep things simple – the second we have an economic slump, we know we need to attract investment and that, ladies and gentlemen, means we need a new investment law. Who doesn’t like a new investment law? It just makes sense.

In the 1970s, Sadat wanted to liberalize the economy and to kick-start a shift from a more socialist command economy to a hybrid capitalist system where the private sector would grow rapidly and eventually take the lead in economic development. The problem was that Egypt’s legal framework was not very conducive to investment. A complete overhaul of the Egyptian legal system and the creation of new administrative and regulatory bodies that could accommodate the private sector overnight was simply not possible. We needed a quick fix.

As a result, the first investment law was born.

To continue reading Aly El Shalakany’s column, Deja Vu All Over Again, please click here.

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