Egypt's investment minister said companies participating in a planned economic hub in the Suez Canal area will pay 10 per cent tax, just a third of the national corporate rate, state media reported on Friday.

Egypt plans to build an international industrial and logistics hub near the Canal to attract foreign investment, alongside a scheme in which the army is digging a second canal to facilitate two-way traffic of larger ships.

"Investment Minister Ashraf Salman announced that tax in the Suez Canal industrial, logistics and tourism hub would be 10 per cent, because it is a special economic zone," state news agency MENA said.

Egypt raised taxes on wealthy individuals and companies by five percentage points in June. Companies earning over 10 million Egyptian pounds ($1.31 million) a year are now taxed at 30 per cent, while those making less than 10 million pounds pay 25 per cent.

The consultant on the hub project told Reuters in December that the government needed to enact reforms to attract companies to the hub. – Reuters