Doing Business in Egypt
Doing Business in Egypt 2008 measures the ways in which government regulations enhance business activity or restrain it at the subnational level. The report studies three Doing Business topics in Alexandria, Assiut and Cairo: starting a business, dealing with licenses and registering property. These indicators cover areas of governorate (province) or district jurisdiction and practice.
The report shows how Egypt’s improving business climate extends to governorates. The case of starting a business proves that reforms initiated by the central government can be successfully replicated throughout the country. In other areas of doing business there are still wide variations in time and procedures due to differences in local regulations and in the implementation of the same law. Reformers can find good practices within their own country – by looking at Alexandria and Assiut - and learn from each other to become nationally and globally more competitive. |
 |
Main findings:
- In Egypt, all governorates share the same legal and regulatory framework that guides business start-up procedures. Assiut and Alexandria have only one procedure not found in Cairo - their one-stop shops are not able to check the company name directly and so must contact the capital. They also take extra 5 days to complete the start-up process, because tax cards are centrally issued in Cairo.
- Throughout the country, builders face bureaucracy in getting construction permits. In Assiut, construction permit-related activities require 19 procedures and 109 days; in Alexandria 30 procedures and 207 days; and in Cairo, 28 procedures and 249 days.
- Property registries are operated by the governorates, but procedures and costs are set centrally. It takes 33 days to register property in Assiut, 159 days on the outskirts of Alexandria and more than six months in Cairo.
- In the last two years, doing business in Egypt has become more affordable - the minimum capital required to start a business and the costs of registering property and dealing with licenses have been slashed - though from the international perspective, the cost remains relatively high.
Doing Business in Egypt report: English (