Under one roof THE CORNERSTONE for the headquarters of the Egyptian Financial Supervision Authority (EFSA) was laid this week in the financial district of the Smart Village outside Cairo. The EFSA, which came into existence 1 July, was created under Law 10/2009 by presidential decree. The new building will bring under one roof some 850 employees of the three authorities replaced by the single new entity. The EFSA replaces the Capital Market Authority, the Mortgage Finance Authority and the Insurance Supervisory Authority. It regulates all non-banking financial markets that encompass the activities of the former three authorities as well as financial leasing activities. Until the new building is complete, the EFSA will go about its business through the headquarters of the former three authorities. The new headquarters is due to be ready by 2011. Ziad Bahaaeddin, head of the newly created authority, told journalists last week that the EFSA will soon work on introducing new draft legislation -- and modifications to existing legislation -- aimed at better market performance. Among topics of concern will be regulating private health insurance companies. Drastic modifications are also expected to be introduced to the financial leasing law, making it a licensed rather than a registered activity. "Being licensed brings it under close scrutiny," said Bahaaeddin. The new law would also entail larger capital requirements. "The purpose is not to close down companies but to encourage them to grow," Bahaaeddin added. In the mortgage finance area, Bahaaeddin said a modification of the law is also to be expected. While a lot has been done in terms of laying down the basis of mortgage finance, some issues prevent the market from taking off, such as building registration, ability to prove income and high interest rates. Rice fragments THE MINISTRY of Trade and Industry (MTI) last week lifted a ban on the export of rice fragments and broken kernels. However, an export fee of LE300 per tonne is to be charged. The decision has no impact on the rice export ban currently in place for an indefinite period. The ban on rice fragments and broken kernels was originally imposed together with the ban on rice exports in April 2008, and had been renewed since. But after making their case, exporters managed to convince MTI that they should be exempted. According to the ministerial decree, the size of the fragment and broken kernels cannot exceed more than half the length of a full grain of rice and must be exported raw and unprocessed. All exports are to take place through the ports of Alexandria and Dekheila. A committee headed by the export manager at each location is to oversee packing and shipment procedures to ensure that all exported fragments are in line with the regulations specified by the decree. New fund in town BANQUE du Caire and Misr Beltone Asset Management (MBAM) recently launched a new LE100 million money market fund (Al-Qahira Al-Yomy). Subscription in the fund, which will be managed by MBAM, a subsidiary of Beltone Financial Holding, started Sunday 19 July at LE10 per certificate. A minimum subscription of 500 certificates is required. "This fund targets individual investors, small companies and establishments, as well as charity groups and institutions," said Alaaeddin Saba, chairman of MBAM. He added that subscriptions to and returns from the fund are easy to process, and that investors can withdraw or deposit money via ATM machines at any time. "Al-Qahira Al-Yomy is the first step to creating investment products that meet our customers' interests and demands," said Mohamed Ibrahim, CEO of Banque du Caire. "The value of this fund is expected to reach LE1 billion by the end of this year compared to LE100 million at present," Saba said. China in Suez AN AGREEMENT for the development of part of the economic zone on the northwest side of the Gulf of Suez was signed this week during the Third Investment Conference for the Canal and Sinai Governorates. The agreement was signed by the General Authority for the Economic Zone North West Gulf of Suez and Egypt-TEDA Investment Company, a joint Egyptian-Chinese investment that will be responsible for developing and promoting six kilometres of the 90-kilometre zone with an aim to attract $1.5 billion worth of investments and to create some 40,000 job opportunities. According to Ministry of Investment data, Chinese investments have been growing to reach 280 companies and LE719 million worth of investments. "Suez is one of the governorates that have attracted the largest investments in the past four years," Mahmoud Mohieldin, Egyptian minister of investment told conference participants. He pointed out that when the Ministry of Investment initiated the idea of regional investment conferences in 2008, 63 per cent of investments in Egypt were located in Greater Cairo, but this year the number dropped to 51 per cent as many governorates, including Suez, started to attract more investments. Mohieldin noted that a surprising 47 per cent of all companies established in Egypt since the 1970s were founded in the past five years -- a result of the great effort made by the government to increase investments in Egypt. The First Investment Conference in the Canal and Sinai Governorates was held in Port Said, June 2008. The second was hosted by Ismailia in January 2009. Water planning THE NATIONAL Master Plan for Water Supply and Wastewater was recently launched by the Holding Company for Water and Wastewater, the Ministry of Housing and the European Union (EU). The national master plan is being financed by a grant of around LE640 million provided by the EU. The plan aims at providing clean water and wastewater services to all of Egypt's governorates. It is expected to meet the needs of all the Egyptian population in water and wastewater until 2037. Abdel-Qawi Khalifa, chairman of the Holding Company for Water and Wastewater, said that his company is currently determining scientifically the future needs of water projects as well as the wastewater system. The work on the master plan started in October 2007. According to Khalifa, 43 clean projects were completed in fiscal year 2008/2009 at a total investment of LE4.7 billion. The company finished 96 wastewater projects at a total investment of LE8.8 billion in 2008/2009.
