**<mark>Table 3: Foreign Investment approval requirement - Example of MENA</mark>**

|**Country**|**Requirement**|**Time**<br>**(days)**|**Comment**|
|---|---|---|---|
|**Algeria**|Foreign investment approval|90-180|Approval required from the “Conseil National de l’Investissement (CNI)”,<br>according to ordinance 01-03 of August 20, 2001 related to the promotion<br>and development of investments.|
|**Egypt, Arab**<br>**Rep.**|No requirement|N/A|Approval is granted in the form of a notification of incorporation issued upon<br>the company’s establishment (not as a separate procedural step)|
|**Iraq**|No requirement|N/A|N/A|
|**Jordan**|No requirement|N/A|N/A|
|**Morocco**|Foreign investment declaration|1 day|Mere declaration a posteriori|
|**Saudi Arabia**|Foreign investment approval|20|A “license” needs to be issued by the Saudi Arabian General Investment<br>Authority (SAGIA)|
|**Tunisia**|Foreign investment declaration|1 day|A declaration form has to be submitted through CPEX (Centre de Promotion<br>des Exportations). It enables the company to benefit from incentives such as:<br>whole exemption from corporate income tax regarding profits derived from<br>export sales (during the first 10 years); VAT exemption on specific purchases;<br>Exemption from registration duties.|

_Source_ : _FDI Regulations_ database 2012 A number of economies have a foreign investment approval requirement only in the case where the investor wishes to benefit from investment incentives (in Bangladesh, the foreign investment approval is a mandatory prerequisite for the sole purpose of benefiting from investment incentives such as tax holidays). Another trend has been noticed, particularly in developed economies which have enacted laws and policies regulating foreign investment and imposed a screening requirement, often to address national security concerns (or maintenance of public order), for the protection of strategic sectors or sometimes for economic security. Although this review is generally justified by governments, strategic sectors need to be clearly specified in the laws/regulations for transparency purposes. In Japan, for example, submission of prior notification is required only for limited sectors explicitly listed in the regulation. We have also seen some protection of infant industries (in Bangladesh’s ready-made garment industry) by imposing a pre-registration foreign investment approval requirement for these sectors only. Finally, in certain economies, the foreign investment approval requirement is subject to government review only once said investment reaches a certain threshold amount. That is the case for example in Korea where a foreign investor is required to make a foreign investment report prior to its investment pursuant to the Foreign Investment Promotion Act, unless the investment amount is less than KRW 50 million (approx. US$ 45,300). On the other end of the spectrum, economies like Nepal impose a minimum threshold amount below which no foreign investment is allowed in the country. Currently, the minimum threshold for FDI in Nepal is equivalent to US$ 50,000. This restriction is limiting the volume of inward FDI flows, especially from neighboring economies interested in expanding regionally. Similarly, Kenya is in the process of reviewing their Investment Act to waive the minimum investment capital requirement of US$ 100,000 in order to accommodate foreign investors, particularly East African ones.

India presents an interesting hybrid foreign investment approval system. In fact, the FDI Policy distinguishes between three different types of foreign investments: 20