Egyptian law provides for a number of business forms for foreign investors. These include:

Joint Stock Company

Joint stock companies (JSC) are the most commonly used form of business in Egypt.

Key aspects of a JSC include:

A JSC must have a minimum of 3 shareholders with no maximum limit and can be natural persons or legal entities
Can offer shares to the public and can issue bonds
JSCs must have issued capital and may have authorized capital
Minimum issued capital of EGP 250,000 for private JSCs, and minimum issued capital of EGP 500,000 if shares will be offered to the public
A minimum of 10% of the share capital must be paid at incorporation, with a minimum of 25% paid within 3 months of incorporation
Must be managed by a board of directors with a minimum of 3 directors
Employment of foreign nationals is limited to 10% of total employees
Payroll of foreign nationals cannot exceed 20% of total payroll

Limited Liability Companies

Limited liability companies (LLC) are typically formed in Egypt for smaller projects that do not require significant financing.

Key aspects of an LLC include:

An LLC must have a minimum of 2 shareholders with a maximum of 50
A supervisory committee must be established if the number of shareholders exceeds 10
Must be managed by one or more managers of any nationality (till 23 December 2018, at least one manager, being Egyptian national, was required)
Cannot issue shares to the public or issue bonds
No minimum capital requirements, although capital must be paid in full upon incorporation
Share of the company is divided up in quotas that must be of equal value, no share certificates are issued for LLCs
LLCs may not engage in insurance, banking, savings, deposit taking, investment funds, securities brokerage, or portfolio management activities.
Limited liability companies may be managed by one or more managers, one of whom must be an Egyptian national

Branch Office

Foreign companies with a contract with an Egyptian public or private entity to perform work in Egypt are allowed to establish a branch office.

Key aspects of a Branch Office include:

Branch offices are allowed to engage in commercial, financial, industrial and contractual activities as long as such activities are within the scope of their contract
Registration of a branch office is valid for 5 years
The branch manager of the office can be of any nationality
An Egyptian auditor must be appointed
Employment of foreign nationals is limited to 10% of total employees
Payroll of foreign nationals cannot exceed 20% of total payroll, with the exception of branch managers
Branch offices are subject to corporate income tax of 25% on net profits

Representative Offices

Foreign companies are allowed to establish representative offices in Egypt to act as liaison offices, scientific or technical offices, or to conduct market surveys or feasibility studies.

Key aspects of a Representative Office include:

They are not allowed to engage in commercial operations or agency activities
An office manager must be appointed, they can be of any nationality
Employees of the office are subject to Egyptian salary tax
Foreign employees must obtain a valid word and resident permit
The office must submit an annual filing detailing the information of its employees to the Companies Department

Effective 31 January 2019, representative offices are required to either establish a company or a branch within 3 years from the date of registration of the representative office in Egypt.

Note that in certain cases the Egyptian authorities may require a company to establish a service facility for its products in Egypt. In such cases, the company must appoint a commercial agent and register its representative office under Egypt's Commercial Agency Law.

Further information on the general investment, tax and regulatory regime about the country is available at the following external references:

“Doing Business” report from World Bank - click here link
Reports and publications from OECD – click here
Reports and publications from IMF – click here
Reports and news from Tax Justice Network – click here
Egyptian Tax Authority - click here
Invest in Egypt - click here

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