Industry: New law on investment to provide “strong impetus” to activity of companies.

The Minister of Industry, Ahmed Zeghdar said Tuesday that the new law on investment would provide “a strong impetus” to the activity of Algerian companies under an environment conducive to investments and a financial system that meets the aspirations of project holders.

Speaking at a national conference on “Financial guarantee as a support mechanism to SMEs,” held by the Guarantee Fund for Credits to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (FGAR), Zeghdar stressed the need to make “2022 a business year par excellence,” especially under after the adoption of the “new law on investment that enshrines the freedom of investment and initiative”.

The new law aims to strengthen the prerogatives of the single window and “reduce significantly” the processing time of investment files. It also provides incentives for foreign direct investments (FDIs) that “create jobs and encourage the transfer of technology and expertise.”

Referring to this conference, the minister said it was part of the implementation of the recommendations of the President of the Republic to address the concerns of economic operators as to the implementation and development of their projects.

The public authorities have taken a series of measures for this purpose, including the establishment of support mechanisms specialized in financial guarantees, like FGAR and other agencies that facilitate access to bank loans for investors.

For his part, the Minister of Finance, AbderrahmaneRaouya said in a speech read on his behalf by the Director-General of the Treasury and Accounting Management of State Financial Operations that the granting of credits to SMEs had become simpler, in the sense that the financial guarantee is “the basis” of the banks-clients relationship.

FGAR and the Algerian-Saudi Company ASICOM seal an agreement to support SMEs in financing their projects.