Selling BOA THE BANK of Alexandria-Intesa Sanpaolo, may soon publicly offer some of its shares. Bloomberg reported this week that the bank management is in talks with the Egyptian government about the initial public offering. The government will decide whether and when the IPO will take place, after consulting with other shareholders, Mahmoud Abdel-Latif, chairman and CEO of the bank told Bloomberg. The was the first, and to-date, the only fully owned state bank to be privatised. In 2006 the government sold 80 per cent of its holding in the bank to Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy's second-largest bank for $1.6 billion. More recently, in March 2009, the International Finance Corporation became a shareholder when it bought 9.75 per cent of the bank from Intesa Sanpaolo. In March 2009, the bank had assets of around LE31 million. A research note by CI Capital points out that the floating of a 15 to 20 per cent stake in the Bank of Alexandria had been predetermined long ago. "The delay may partially be attributed to the unsuitable market conditions." CI Capital however stressed that this would be a positive step that "would stimulate activity in the banking stocks as well as overall stock market, especially if it is implemented soon. It also reflects that senior bankers are picking positive vibes in the market." More than furniture MORE than 200 companies showcased their latest products at Furnex Egypt 2009, the International Furniture and Home Furnishing Exhibition, which was held from 4-8 June at Cairo International Conferences Centre, Eman Youssef reports. The exhibition, which was organised by the Egyptian Exporters Association (Expo link), the Industrial Modernisation centre, Federation of Egyptian Industries, as well as the Egyptian Furniture Export Council, has attracted an unprecedented number of visitors aiming to buy the local industry of furniture, antiques, lighting, home textiles, upholstery, carpets, towels, glass, marble and wood products. "We had a great response on the first two days at the fair. Our products have been well received and the show was a huge success for us", said Mohamed El-Basiony, of El-Basiony Furniture, whose products are mainly from Damietta. On an area of around 21,000 square metres, Furnex 2009 witnessed the Egyptian furniture exporters' understanding of different markets that is expressed in the continuous expansion in product development and design, skilled labour training, as well as state of the art machinery acquisition, according to Hatem El-Tabbakh, production manager at Misr Spain Company, one of El-Tabbakh Group. He also commented that the fair was mainly targeting the international companies but he was disappointed from the low international presence. It is worth noting that the annual furniture exports amount to $250 million, mainly to the United States and European Union countries and some Gulf countries. The Egyptian furniture industry witnessed a tremendous progress that made Egypt a global provider of quality products serving as a reliable source of world class furniture and accessories to international markets, according to Expo Link reports. GAFI gets ISO THE GENERAL Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) became the first government entity to acquire the ISO 9001-2000 certificate. The certificate was obtained in collaboration with the Ministry of Investment's Leadership Management Development Centre (LMDC) that acted as a quality consultant. Prior to accreditation, services performed by GAFI were registered and documented so as to be able to develop necessary means to acquire internationally standardised quality performance. Wafaa Sobhi, deputy chairman of GAFI, who also heads the Higher Administration of Quality, underlined the fact that GAFI has extended its services across the country and that its organisational structure has equally been expanding. "That is why it was important to guarantee that all work procedures and services extended by GAFI are done in accordance with internationally recognised standards. On the second phase, GAFI is planning for its different offices across the country to go through the same process so as to receive the ISO certificate by 2010," she said. For his part, Assem Ragab, chairman of GAFI, indicated that the accreditation comes as part of a comprehensive plan aimed at upgrading the organisation.
