Competitive neutrality will encourage investment and innovation in Egypt, boosting gross domestic product (GDP), production capacity, and market productivity, explained Mahmoud Momtaz, Chairperson of the Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) yesterday.

During the session on the State Ownership Policy Document, the ECA head revealed that it is working on developing a competitive neutrality index.

The index would identify and measure the success of its strategy to promote and enforce competitive neutrality, part of the government’s efforts to encourage fair competition. Momtaz did not disclose further details.

Competitive neutrality will raise GDP by 2.5%, Momtaz highlighted.

It would also boost the production capacity of economic entities by 3.8-4.6%, raising market productivity by 50%.

Competitive neutrality policies do include tax neutrality, which applies the same tax system to all persons operating in the local market when their positions are equal, and includes debt neutrality which enables all persons operating in the market to obtain capital at the same cost.

Policies also include regulatory and legislative neutrality which places all companies in the market, whether state-owned companies or private companies, under the same regulatory framework.

Ahmed Kouchouk, Vice Minister of Finance for Fiscal Policies and Institutional Reform, stated that amendments to strengthen the ECA’s authority are in its “advanced stages” in parliament.

Momtaz said that the ECA developed its 2021-2025 strategy to achieve Egypt’s Vision 2030 and sustainable development goals. The strategy is based on four objectives; the effective enforcement of the provisions of the Competition Protection Law by combating monopolistic practices; limiting legislation, policies, and decisions restricting freedom of competition; spreading the culture of competition; and raising institutional efficiency.