Egypt ends curbs on foreign property ownership

Egypt is to remove limits on foreign ownership of property in an effort to attract more hard currency to the country.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said in a news conference on Wednesday that the government would remove restrictions that allow foreigners to own no more than two properties, both of which currently need to be in different cities.

He also said that the state would work to speed up land registration for investors, following complaints of processing difficulties at the Supreme Council for Investments.

Madbouly also said that the council was seeking to increase private sector investments to be equal to or more than state investments. The target after three years is for the private sector to account for between 60 percent or 65 percent of all investment.

The prime minister said that the total volume of investments allocated for 2023-24, both private and state, was about 1.64 trillion Egyptian pounds, he said. That compares to about 115.7 billion Egyptian pounds ($3.74 billion) in 2005-26.

Madbouly said that investment by locals and foreigners would help reduce inflation and ease pressure on commodity prices.