Speaking at an iftar hosted by the Alexandria Business Association, Hashem said the government is also planning investment funds to channel citizens’ savings into the industrial sector and preparing regulatory changes to speed up industrial investment.
The planned regulations would allow investors to lease industrial land without waiting for the current requirement of three years of operations, a move intended to accelerate project launches. Authorities are also considering lower land prices and faster licensing procedures for projects in Upper Egypt.
The industrial sector is one of five priority sectors in Egypt’s Economic Development Narrative, which aims to increase the industry’s share of gross domestic product from 14 percent to 20 percent by 2030.
Officials are also reviewing the National Industrial Strategy, part of broader efforts to improve competitiveness, expand domestic production, and address structural challenges in manufacturing.
Private investment
The economic ministerial group says increasing private sector participation is a key part of the strategy.
Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk said private investment rose by 73 percent in the FY 2024/2025 and increased by 42 percent during the first quarter of FY 2025/2026.
Kouchouk also said more than 600,000 taxpayers have voluntarily submitted new or amended tax returns, paying around EGP 80 billion (about $1.6 billion) in additional taxes and declaring a combined business volume of EGP 1 trillion.
The filings followed the government’s second package of tax facilitation measures introduced in 2025, aimed at encouraging compliance.
According to the finance ministry, tax revenues increased by 31.5 percent during the first eight months of the current fiscal year.
Revenues reached about EGP 336.3 billion during the first six months of FY 2025/2026, bringing the total to EGP 1.4 trillion, compared with the same period a year earlier.
Tax income also rose 35 percent during the previous fiscal year, which officials attribute partly to higher compliance after earlier tax reforms.
The government is targeting 27.7 percent growth in tax revenues under the draft FY 2025/2026 state budget, which would raise tax income by roughly one percentage point as a share of GDP.
Government officials explained that the goal is to broaden the tax base, modernize tax administration, and strengthen public finances without introducing new taxes.
The tax reforms were also encouraged by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which recommended the measures during the fourth review of Egypt’s $8 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme.
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