The Higher Council for Investment Promotion, established by the Investment Promotion Law, has formed a committee to introduce changes to the law.
The Higher Council has power to propose amendments and raise the same to the Cabinet. The committee's objective is to draft a mechanism allowing the Cabinet enough flexibility in granting incentives in order to direct investment towards rural areas. The proposed incentives reach up to 100% tax exemptions for a period of 20 years.
The Council will be responsible for evaluating the assets of a public entity in accordance with international economic and financial standards.
The draft law establishes control mechanisms, within the Higher Council and within each relevant ministry, to administer adequate execution of the privatization process and to ensure consumer rights as to prices, quality, and fair competition.
The draft also considers national employment issues in privatized projects aiming to protect the public interest.
Projects of monopolistic nature, such as telecommunications and electricity are constrained to terms related to environmental compliance, technology transfer, and consumer protection measures. In addition, the draft introduces what is named as "Golden Shares" in monopolistic projects. These shares are granted to the state, allowing it veto powers in decisions of the board of directors for purposes of protecting public interest.
The proposed piece of legislation in privatization comes about as part of the reform policy in Lebanon's economic program. This program aims to reduce the deficit as compared to the GNP and reduce interest rates.