If your question is "do I need an Egyptian partner to open a company in Egypt?", the answer for most of the country is no. As of October 2026, foreigners can own 100% of most investment projects and can repatriate profits and capital. The partner myths survive because three real exceptions exist: commercial agency, importing for trade, and Sinai. Sinai itself is split into two regimes, and that split is where most of the confusion about Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab and El Tor comes from.
Below: which rule applies where, what the 51% and 55% figures refer to, and why a nominee is a risk. We set companies up in Sharm El Sheikh and keep them compliant, so we meet these rules at formation and again whenever shares change hands.
Do you need an Egyptian partner to open a company in Egypt?
Outside Sinai, no Egyptian shareholder is required for most activities. Company law (Law 159/1981) offers four forms: the joint-stock company (JSC), the partnership limited by shares, the limited liability company (LLC) and the one-person company (OPC), added by Law 4/2018. Investment Law 72/2017 adds sole proprietorships and partnerships set up at GAFI. In the common forms, a foreigner can hold every share:
| Form | Owners | Minimum capital (as of October 2026) | Foreign ownership |
|---|---|---|---|
| LLC | 2 to 50 partners | No statutory minimum | Up to 100%; no nationality condition for managers |
| One-person company (OPC) | 1 owner | EGP 1,000, fully paid | Up to 100% |
| Joint-stock company (JSC) | At least 3 founders | Issued capital EGP 250,000: 10% paid at incorporation, 25% within 3 months, 100% within 5 years | Up to 100%; board of 3 or more, any nationality |
| Branch of a foreign company | The foreign parent | Bank certificate for the equivalent of EGP 5,000 in foreign currency | 100% foreign; registered only against a specific contract with an Egyptian party |
Two things often get mixed up with the partner question:
- Managers. Law 159 sets no nationality condition for LLC managers, and GAFI's 2026 incorporation file asks only for security forms for foreign managers. Check your activity, though: importing and commercial agency follow their own rules.
- Security forms. Every foreign founder and manager files security-inquiry forms with GAFI, and a foreign attorney-in-fact needs valid Egyptian residency. It is a review of who you are, not a requirement to bring in an Egyptian shareholder.
Egyptian law pushes Egyptian employment, not Egyptian ownership. Under Investment Law 72/2017 (Art. 8), foreigners may make up 10% of a project's workforce, or 20% where qualified Egyptians are not available. That is a staffing rule, not a shareholding rule.
For the full route as a foreign owner, see our page on company formation in Egypt for foreigners.
Where does the 51% Egyptian partner rule come from?
The 51% figure is not invented. It belongs to two specific activities, and if yours is neither, it does not apply to you.
Commercial agency. Acting in Egypt as the agent of a foreign company is restricted to Egyptians. If your plan is to represent a foreign brand or supplier as its agent, the ownership question is real and needs checking before you register anything.
Importing for trade. The importers' register is the other place where 51% still matters. Under Law 173/2023, a company with less than 51% Egyptian ownership may register as an importer for up to 10 years, renewable once. Ministerial Decree 271/2026, in force since 22 July 2026, sets the procedure and the reporting duties for these importers. Whether your business imports for trade at all, or buys from local importers, is the first thing to settle.
Is there an Egyptian partner rule in Sharm El Sheikh and Dahab?
Not a percentage. Presidential Decree 128/2022 was issued on 23 March 2022, published in the Official Gazette on 25 March and has been in force since 1 April 2022. It takes Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab and the Gulf of Aqaba tourism sector, within the decree's maps, out of all provisions of the Sinai development law (Law 14/2012), and it repealed the earlier Decree 28/2021.
In those areas, as of October 2026:
- A non-Egyptian investment project must be an Egyptian joint-stock company.
- The decree states no minimum Egyptian shareholding.
- Any change of founders, shareholdings or the articles of association needs approval from the Ministries of Defence and Interior and General Intelligence, plus GAFI or FRA approval.
- Land and buildings may be owned only by Egyptians or wholly Egyptian-owned entities. State land is granted by usufruct of up to 75 years in total; the holder owns the buildings and can sell them separately under model contracts.
- Every ownership, allocation, usufruct or real-estate dealing needs prior approval from the same three security bodies, for Egyptians and foreigners alike, or the contract is void.
So in Sharm and Dahab the decree's text asks for a company form and an approval route, not an Egyptian shareholder. What it does not do is make Sharm "unrestricted". A JSC needs at least 3 founders and issued capital of at least EGP 250,000, and every later change of owners goes back through the security approvals. Our page on company formation in Sharm El Sheikh and South Sinai covers the whole regime.
Is the 55% rule real? El Tor, Saint Catherine and the rest of Sinai
Yes, and this is where the 55% figure comes from. Outside the Decree-128 areas, the Sinai development law (Law 14/2012) still applies, which covers El Tor, Saint Catherine, Ras Sudr and North Sinai. There, as of October 2026:
- the project must be a JSC with at least 55% Egyptian ownership, so foreign holdings are capped at 45%;
- the Sinai Development Agency must license the project before it starts;
- state land is available by usufruct of up to 50 years, renewable to 75 years in total;
- arbitration over Sinai land is restricted.
One overlap catches people out. A company active both inside the Decree-128 areas and elsewhere in Sinai stays under Law 14/2012, with its 55% rule. If you plan to work from Sharm and also open premises in El Tor or Saint Catherine, that combination is worth checking before you register, not after.
Sharm, Dahab, El Tor and Hurghada compared
| Where | Egyptian ownership required | Company form for a foreign-owned project | Land |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most of Egypt | None for most activities; commercial agency and importing differ | LLC, OPC, JSC or branch | National rules |
| Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, Gulf of Aqaba tourism sector (Decree 128/2022, within its maps) | No percentage stated | Egyptian JSC; security plus GAFI or FRA approval for ownership changes | Egyptian-only; prior security approval for every dealing |
| El Tor, Saint Catherine, Ras Sudr, North Sinai (Law 14/2012) | At least 55% | JSC with a Sinai Development Agency licence | No foreign ownership; state land by usufruct, up to 50 years renewable to 75 |
| Hurghada and the Red Sea governorate | Outside the Sinai regime | National rules | Residential units: foreigners treated like Egyptians, subject to the approval of the competent authorities |
Is an Egyptian nominee a safe shortcut?
A nominee is an Egyptian who holds shares, or land, in their own name while a foreigner provides the money and runs the business. Forum posts still suggest it, usually to meet a percentage rule that, as shown above, mostly does not exist. We explain the risk here. We do not design, document or hold nominee arrangements.
- On paper, the shares are theirs. GAFI and the Commercial Register show the nominee as owner. Your position rests on a private side agreement, and whether it can be enforced is a question for a litigation lawyer, not a promise anyone can make you.
- Their life becomes your exposure. If the nominee dies, divorces, takes on debts or simply falls out with you, the dispute is over an asset that is legally theirs.
- Undoing it later needs the approvals it was meant to avoid. In the Decree-128 areas every change of shareholders needs security approval plus GAFI or FRA approval, and GAFI also charges an approval fee for a share transfer in a Sinai company.
- Land is the worst case. Land in Sharm and Dahab is Egyptian-only, and a real-estate dealing without prior security approval is void. An Egyptian name in front of a foreigner's money does not change who the law allows to own the land.
- It sidesteps the security review. Every foreign founder and manager files security-inquiry forms. A structure that keeps the real owner out of that review works against the purpose of the rules, and if it surfaces, you explain it to the authorities whose approval you need.
The better news is that a nominee usually solves a problem you do not have. Outside Sinai you can normally own 100%. In Sharm and Dahab the decree asks for a JSC and approvals, not an Egyptian percentage.
Which structure fits your activity and location?
The answer depends less on your nationality than on where you work and what you do. Five questions decide the company form and the order of approvals:
- Where is the premises or plot? Inside the Decree-128 maps, under Law 14/2012, or outside Sinai altogether. Near the edges of the maps, the answer goes plot by plot.
- What will the company do? Commercial agency and importing for trade carry their own ownership rules. Hotels, restaurants, diving and safari centres add licensing under Law 8/2022. For tourism companies, the Ministry of Tourism site showed on 10 October 2026 that issuing a tourism company licence is temporarily suspended.
- Who are the owners and managers? Every foreign founder and manager files security forms. Advance clearance is reported for some nationalities, including Russia and Ukraine, and GAFI has started relaxing this case by case.
- Will the company hold land or a usufruct, or only lease premises? Treat foreign land ownership anywhere in Sinai as prohibited, and every real-estate dealing in the Decree-128 areas needs prior approval.
- Will you work in more than one Sinai area? Combining Sharm with El Tor or Saint Catherine can bring the whole company under Law 14/2012.
In Sinai every later change of owners goes back through the same approvals, so settle the structure before the first filing. If you are buying a unit rather than starting a business, read our guide to buying property in Sharm El Sheikh as a foreigner. For our work in Dahab, El Tor and the rest of the governorate, see accounting and company services across South Sinai.
