New law on investment: the main decisions of the Council of Ministers – Algerie Eco

The President of the Republic, M Abdelmadjid Tebboune, chaired, on Thursday, a special meeting of the Council of Ministers devoted to the examination and debate of the draft of the new law relating to investment, indicates a press release from the Council of Ministers.

“The President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Supreme Head of the Armed Forces, Minister of National Defense chaired, Thursday, May 19, 2022, a special meeting of the Council of Ministers devoted to the examination and debate of the draft new law relating to investment presented by the Minister of Industry and which provides for a series of measures aimed at concretizing the commitments of the President of the Republic relating to the improvement of the investment climate and guaranteeing the appropriate conditions for releasing the spirit of initiative and diversify the national economy, within the framework of a global and stable vision, taking into account the following elements:

– Consecrate the principles of freedom of investment, transparency and equality, in accordance with the provisions of the 2020 Constitution.

– Reorganize the institutional framework relating to investment by:

1. Focusing the missions of the National Investment Council (CNI) on the proposal, coordination, and evaluation of the implementation of the national investment policy.

2. Changing the name of the National Investment Development Agency (ANDI) to the Algerian Investment Promotion Agency, giving it the role of promoter and investment guide through:

* The creation of a one-stop shop with national competence, for major projects and foreign investments.

* The creation of decentralized one-stop shops for local investment by ensuring the strengthening of their prerogatives through the qualification of the representatives of the public bodies and administrations concerned.

* The fight against bureaucracy, through the digitization of investment-related procedures through the creation of the digital investor platform.

* The immediate delivery of the certificate of registration of the investment project.

* The widening of the guaranteed field of transfer of invested funds and their receipts for non-resident investors.

* The establishment of incentive systems for investment in priority sectors and areas to which the State grants a particular interest, for an optimal orientation of the advantages granted to investment.

The new version adopted by the Council of Ministers

At the end of the presentation of the bill, the President of the Republic welcomed the new version, adopted by the Council of Ministers, after taking into account the observations and proposals raised during the debate, namely:

– Strengthen the guarantees relating to the implementation of the principle of freedom of investment.

– Strengthen the judicial system to protect investors from bureaucratic abuses, through the creation of a high-level independent mechanism, composed of magistrates and economic and financial experts. Placed under the Presidency of the Republic, this mechanism will be responsible for ruling on complaints and appeals lodged by investors.

– Place the Algerian Investment Promotion Agency under the authority of the Prime Minister.

– Seconding to the Algerian Agency for the Promotion of Investment the representatives of the different sectors appointed to the one-stop shops, giving them the prerogative to take all decisions relating to investment.

– Renounce all forms of abuse of power in the processing of investor files and reduce review times to less than a month with the adoption of international standards in terms of attracting investment, with the emphasis on focused on speed, efficiency and sustainability.

– Support investments contributing to the reduction of the import bill and using local raw materials.

– Impose the maximum penalties on anyone who interferes in any way with investment operations, regardless of their position or the nature of their responsibility.

The President of the Republic has also instructed the Government to finalize the texts relating to the various agencies responsible for land and to finalize the operation of listing available or unused land bases in order to make them available to investors in a transparent and rational manner.

Before the close of the session, the President of the Republic gave the Government guidelines for:

– The effective launch of the realization of the various projects registered under the complementary development program of the wilaya of Khenchela, in particular the acceleration of the implementation of the railway project as soon as possible.

– The immediate implementation of the program proposed to strengthen the program of international air and maritime services in anticipation of the summer season”.