EGYPT Trends and Developments Contributed by: Mohamed Hashish, Heba El Abd, Mariam Rabie, Mohamed Selim and Abdelaziz Mohamed, Soliman, Hashish & Partners
• The main objective of the investment project shall be securing strategic goods for the country, thereby reducing reliance on imports. • The investment project shall lessen environmental impact via reducing gas and temperature emis - sions and climate improvement. • The investment project shall offer a labour-inten - sive investment project by employing not less than 500 Egyptian nationals. It is worth noting that as of 2026, a total of 52 Golden Licences have been issued by GAFI, of which eight Golden Licences were granted in 2026 covering investment projects worth around USD1.2 billion. Furthermore, amendments were introduced to the Executive Regulations of the Investment Law pur - suant to Prime Minister’s Decree No 2140 of 2023 with the aim of promoting foreign direct investment. These amendments include revisions to the Private Free Zones regime, most notably the introduction of a provision authorising the Cabinet to approve the establishment of projects within a Private Free Zone upon the proposal of the competent minister, follow - ing an assessment of the project by GAFI and subject to the satisfaction of certain prescribed conditions. Furthermore, the aforementioned Decree lifted some of the requirements for establishing projects in the Private Free Zones, including: • the requirement to check initially whether there is a location in the Public Free Zone that would accom - modate the project; • the minimum capital requirement of USD10 mil - lion, and the investment costs thereof not being less than USD20 million or its equivalent in a freely convertible currency; • the minimum area requirement for the project being 20,000 square metres; and • a minimum requirement of 500 employees; in addi - tion, this Decree has introduced provisions regard - ing the inclusion of the services industry under the Private Free Zone system. Labour Law It is worth noting that on 3 May 2025, the New Egyp - tian Labour Law No 14 of 2025 (the “Labour Law”) was
officially published, replacing the previous Labour Law No 12 of 2003. In accordance with its provisions, the Labour Law entered into force on the first day of the month following the lapse of 90 days from the date of its publication (ie, 1 September 2025). The Labour Law has introduced key new changes to the previous Labour Law, including, inter alia, rec - ognising new work models, such as remote work, increasing maternity leave, introduction of paternity leave, and increasing the maximum number of times female employees may take unpaid leave to take care of their child. Under the Labour Law, any condition or agreement that violates the provisions of the Labour Law and/or derogates from the employee’s rights and entitlements, shall be considered invalid. Merger Control The amendments made to the Antitrust Law No 5 of 2003 (the “Antitrust Law”) in December 2022 replaced the post-notification regime for a transaction with the newly introduced pre-merger control system, whereby the Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) is given the authority to review and approve proposed mergers and acquisitions prior to entering into the transac - tion. In April 2024, the Egyptian Prime Minister issued Decree No 1120 of 2024, enacting the Executive Regulations of the Antitrust Law and thereby imple - menting the new amendments. The new pre-merger control system went into effect as of 1 June 2024 and requires pre-approval from the ECA for transactions that constitute “economic concentration” between the contracting parties (namely, a change in control or material influence of a person resulting from a merger, acquisition or joint venture), subject to meeting the relevant criteria with respect to financial thresholds. It is worth noting that any transaction that constitutes “economic concentration” shall be subject to the pre- closing clearance requirement from the ECA. By virtue of the new amendments, economic concentration is defined as any change of control or material influence as a result of a merger or acquisition or establishment of a joint venture. Furthermore, the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA)’s notification and pre-approval are required for any potential transaction that constitutes “economic
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