Egypt's competition framework is set for a major update. On April 24, 2026, the Egyptian Parliament ("Parliament") approved a bill that will introduce amendments ("Amendments") to replace certain articles of the current Egyptian Competition Law No. 3 of 2005 ("Competition Law"), which had previously been amended in 2022 to introduce a pre-closing merger control regime.1 Under these new Amendments, the Egyptian Competition Authority ("ECA") is expected to see its powers and regulatory tools significantly expanded.
We highlight below some of the key changes expected in the Amendments, including more independence for the ECA, higher merger control thresholds, new administrative sanctions, and a higher cap on potential fines. These changes also follow the ECA's publication of detailed guidelines on various antitrust issues, intended to provide more clarity on the ECA's analytical framework and promote more compliance by market participants in Egypt.
While some of the changes proposed in the Amendments have been highlighted in public reporting, which we discuss below, the final version of the Amendments, as approved by Parliament, has not been published officially yet. The Amendments also remain subject to the approval of the President of Egypt before they are issued into law, and will go into effect three months after that approval. White & Case continues to track these developments closely and will provide updates as more details become available.
More regulatory independence
The Amendments elevate the status of the ECA as an independent regulatory authority under Article 215 of the Egyptian Constitution. This would give the ECA "technical, financial, and administrative independence," similar to the Central Bank of Egypt and the Financial Regulatory Authority.2 As such, the Chairman of the ECA will be appointed by the President of Egypt, subject to approval by the Parliament, and will report annually to the President, Parliament, and the Prime Minister.3
Higher merger control thresholds
The Amendments will significantly raise the financial thresholds that trigger mandatory merger control notification to the ECA. The specific threshold amounts will be confirmed when the Amendments are published in the Official Gazette, but they are expected to increase as detailed below. An ECA filing will be required in Egypt if the parties to a notifiable "Economic Concentration," as defined in the Competition Law,4 exceed one of the following thresholds:
- Domestic threshold: The combined annual turnover or value of assets of all parties in Egypt exceeds EGP 2.5 billion (~USD 52.4 million, based on FY2025 rates),5 provided that at least two parties each report annual turnover or assets in Egypt that exceed EGP 500 million (~USD 10.4 million); or
- International threshold: The combined annual turnover or value of assets of all parties worldwide exceeds EGP 15 billion (~USD 314.66 million), provided that at least the target entity reports annual turnover or assets in Egypt that exceed EGP 500 million (~USD 10.4 million).
This is a positive development that aims to keep pace with currency fluctuations, inflation, and other economic changes. Higher thresholds will reduce the burden of unnecessary filings for smaller or foreign transactions that are unlikely to affect competition in Egypt, which also helps focus the ECA's resources and efforts on more relevant transactions with a more likely nexus to the Egyptian market.
New administrative sanctions
The Amendments introduce a new track for administrative sanctions, which enables the ECA to impose fines directly without the need for criminal proceedings, thus allowing for swifter enforcement. Unlike the current Competition Law, where violations can only be sanctioned by referral to public prosecution, the Amendments create a dual-track that allows the ECA, by a majority vote of its Board of Directors, to impose administrative fines against companies found to be in violation.
The Amendments are expected to establish certain due process safeguards for this framework, including allowing the defendant an opportunity to present a defense, requiring the ECA to issue a reasoned decision in support of any administrative sanction, and creating a path for appealing such decisions. An administrative sanction decision would be appealable to the "Grievance Committee" – a newly established body to be headed by a judge from the Egyptian State Council and comprised of experts unaffiliated with the ECA – and it can be further appealed to an administrative court.
Higher cap on potential fines
The Amendments will create different tiers of fines depending on the nature of the violation, with a higher maximum range for anticompetitive agreements:6
- Anticompetitive agreements and abuse of dominance: anticompetitive agreements, whether they relate to horizontal or vertical restraints, as well as abuse of dominance violations, will be subject to potential fines in an amount up to 15% of the total revenues derived from the infringing conduct over the entire violation period. Where the relevant revenues cannot be determined, the fine may be set at a fixed amount of up to EGP 700 million (~USD 13.2 million), capped at 10% of the violator's total annual turnover.
- Merger control violations: violations of requirements relating to Economic Concentrations will be subject to potential fines in an amount up to 10% of the annual turnover or value of assets of the parties in violation, or the transaction amount, whichever is higher. This includes violations relating to failing to notify the ECA of a qualifying transaction, breaching any ECA conditions for approval, or closing a transaction before obtaining the ECA's approval or despite its rejection.
The Amendments also include additional tiers of potential minimum and maximum fines for other violations, such as providing the ECA with inaccurate information, failing to provide the ECA with required information, or obstructing the ECA investigation process. A defendant may also negotiate a settlement with the ECA to pay a reduced fine or to pay the amount in installments.
ECA guidelines
The proposed legislative reforms build on ongoing efforts to strengthen and develop the Egyptian competition regime. Earlier this year, the ECA issued four sets of detailed guidelines on the following topics:
- The jurisdictional thresholds for mandatory and discretionary notification of Economic Concentrations to the ECA;
- The policies and standards relating to the implementation of a notifiable Economic Concentration before obtaining ECA clearance for the transaction or the expiry of the statutory review period (i.e., "gun-jumping");
- The ECA's approach to assessing ancillary restraints in certain Economic Concentration agreements; and
- The application of the Competition Law to digital markets, including market definition, market power assessment, and prohibited practices.
The above publications add to the library of guidelines the ECA has issued in recent years, covering a range of topics, including:
- Competitive restraints in vertical agreements;
- The exchange of competitively sensitive information;
- Antitrust compliance in the context of trade associations;
- Defining the relevant market for the competitive analysis;
- Assessing a company's dominant position in the market;
- Combatting collusion in public bids; and
- The ECA's amnesty/leniency policy for reporting violations and cooperating with the ECA.
The ECA's stated objectives for these guidelines are to promote transparency, align the ECA's policies with the best international practices, and provide market participants with a clearer understanding of how the Competition Law applies to their conduct.
Conclusion
The proposed Amendments represent one of the most comprehensive overhauls of Egypt's Competition Law in recent years.7 Elevating the status and independence of the ECA, while empowering it with new sanctions tools and higher fines, signals Egypt's clear intent to strengthen enforcement of the antitrust regime. Moreover, higher notification thresholds ensure that the ECA's merger control efforts remain focused on transactions with more likely impact on the Egyptian market. These legislative developments come on the heels of the ECA's publication of more than a dozen guidelines on a range of topics to help promote compliance.
White & Case is closely tracking the evolving regulatory regime in Egypt and will continue to provide updates as more details become available. Companies that have business activities or transactions with a potential link to Egypt are advised to carefully consider these developments to ensure proper compliance with the Competition Law.
Jana Hatem and Shaden Amr (White & Case, Cairo) contributed to the development of this publication.
1 See, e.g., White & Case Client Alert: Egypt's New Merger Control Regime Goes Into Effect (April 2024).
2 See the Constitution of the Arab Republic of Egypt ("Egyptian Constitution"), at Article 215.
3 See Egyptian Constitution, at Articles 216-217.
4 An "Economic Concentration" includes any merger, acquisition, or joint venture that results in a change of control or material influence, subject to certain exceptions.
5 Pursuant to ECA requirements, currency conversions are based on the official rate of the Central Bank of Egypt as of the last day of the applicable financial year.
6 The ranges provided herein are based on the latest draft bill and public reporting on the Amendments. The specific minimum and maximum amounts for each category will be confirmed when the bill is published in the Official Gazette.
7 See, e.g., White & Case Client Alert: Key Takeaways from the New Egyptian Merger Control Guidelines (May 2024); White & Case Client Alert: Egypt's New Merger Control Regime Goes Into Effect (April 2024).
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This article is prepared for the general information of interested persons. It is not, and does not attempt to be, comprehensive in nature. Due to the general nature of its content, it should not be regarded as legal advice.
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