EGYPT Trends and Developments Contributed by: Mohamed Hashish, Farida Rezk, Omar Aboul-Ella and Mariam Rabie, Soliman, Hashish & Partners
applies to any of the aforementioned persons who breach the Data Protection Law if they are: • an Egyptian national inside or outside Egypt; • a non-Egyptian residing within Egypt; or • a non-Egyptian outside Egypt if the act is punishable in any form in the country where it occurred and the data subject who is affected by the breach is an Egyptian national or a non-Egyptian residing in Egypt. The Data Protection Law sets out the require - ments governing the processing, handling and control of any personal data. As a general princi - ple, such processing is contingent upon obtain - ing the consent of the data subject and licensing from the Data Protection Centre. It is noteworthy that the Data Protection Centre is designated as the regulatory authority responsible for over - seeing the application and enforceability of the Data Protection Law. However, the Centre has not yet been established, and the said licence regulations remain subject to the issuance of the Executive Regulations. Moreover, the Data Pro - tection Law regulates the cross-border transfer of personal data and prescribes certain condi - tions and standards that must be satisfied for the lawful transfer of personal data outside of Egypt. Banking, Finance and Exchange Control It is worth noting that the Egyptian pound has experienced various devaluations throughout 2022 in order to secure IMF loans. Despite the fact that investors are freely allowed by law and the relevant and applicable bilateral investment treaty to transfer dividends to their home country, the current shortage and unavail - ability of foreign currency in Egypt has made it difficult to transfer such proceeds and dividends of the investors to their home country; as a result,
most foreign investors secure their own source of foreign currency, as each bank is currently applying a list of priorities for exchanging Egyp - tian pounds with any foreign currency, which differs from one bank to the other. However, it is worth noting that these restrictions have relaxed significantly in 2024, allowing foreign investors to secure foreign currency. Imports As of December 2022, the CBE abolished the system of requiring importers to obtain letters of credit for their purchases and returned to the cash-against-documents system for importing goods. This change alleviates the previously higher costs and time burdens on importers. It is also worth noting that in 2023, by virtue of the Law No 173 of 2023, the foreign ownership restriction on importation has been lifted, per - mitting limited liability companies where 51% of the allotments are owned by non-Egyptian partners to register in the Importers’ Registry, provided that the total duration of registration does not exceed ten years from the date of entry into force of the said law. However, this dura - tion may be extended for one additional period not exceeding ten years by a decision from the Council of Ministers. In conclusion, different legal developments have taken place across different regulations and sec - tors in Egypt. These measures reflect the Egyp - tian government’s aim to foster a stable and well-regulated economy, not only for Egyptians, but also to promote foreign direct investment in Egypt. Notably, reports indicate that further changes are anticipated in the coming years, including the introduction of new labour and arbitration laws.
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