Competition law charter out THE EXECUTIVE charter of the competition and anti-trust law was issued last Thursday. Among the main stipulations of the charter is that competitors should not agree to increase, decrease or maintain unchanged, the sale or purchase price of products. Competitors are also not allowed to split or set specific locations for each to operate. There should also be no coordinating positions for the entry into tenders or bids. The charter also forbids any company with a large stake in the market to refrain from manufacturing, producing or distributing a product, wholly or partially, unless the company is incapable of meeting its commitments. According to the charter, anyone may report an infraction of the law to the Competition Authority and all complaints should be accompanied by the necessary documentation showing the damage incurred. The board members of the Competition Authority have also been announced. Mona Fahmi Yassin, deputy chairman of the National Bank of Egypt, is to head the authority. The authority's board of directors, which includes 13 other figures, will stay in office for four years, renewable only once. The authority oversees the application of the law and its executive charter as well as receives and examines complaints. SocGen wins MIB FOLLOWING weeks of waiting, the winning bid for the purchase of a Misr International Bank (MIBank) was announced late last week. The French Société Générale (SocGen) has grabbed the deal from its only competitor BNP Paribas, also a French bank. SocGen has bought 70.5 per cent of MIB shares, giving it control of one of the largest private banks in Egypt. The shares were bought at LE43.2 each. SocGen has also agreed to buy at least 75 per cent and up to 100 per cent of the bank's shares at the same price. It is expected that SocGen will merge MIBank with its Egyptian subsidiary National Société Générale Bank. According to a news bulletin issued by HC brokerage company, NSGB currently holds 1.9 per cent of total deposits in the economy and provides 2.1 per cent of all loans. HC expects that following the finalisation of the deal, NSGB's market share will rise to 4.8 per cent in the deposits market and 4.3 per cent in the loans market. "The combined entity is expected to have total assets of around LE29 billion and total customer deposits of LE25.8 billion." Bidding for MIB began when Banque Misr (BM) offered its 25.5 per cent share in MIBank for sale earlier this summer. The race for BM's share began with four contestants, namely Barclays Bank, Bahrain's Ahli United Bank as well as BNP Paribas and SocGen. During the bidding process, the Capital Market Authority announced that whoever wins the 25.5 per cent share of Banque Misr, could bid for 100 per cent of the bank. Help for NGOs FOUR new grants to Egyptian NGOs may help them improve social and economic conditions in various areas around Egypt. Sherine El-Madany reports. Egypt's non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and local communities have become geared up for an opportunity to improve social and economic conditions in villages and over-populated areas across Egypt, said Stuart Jones, US Charge d'Affaires, at a ceremony held last week at the US Embassy in Cairo to celebrate the signing of four new Self-Help Programme (SHP) grants worth LE256,071. "Each year, the SHP works with different associations to improve all aspects of Egypt's infrastructure ranging from building roads and sewage to banking and agricultural development," stated Jones. This year, four associations have been chosen to receive special funds for small-scale local projects, he added. Three different associations in the New Valley, Sohag, and Qena governorates received one grant each for establishing micro-credit loan programmes for women, youth, and low-income families. The fourth grant was awarded to the Community Development Association of Balat in the New Valley for establishing a computer-training centre in the governorate. The SHP aims at improving basic economic, social, environmental, and living conditions in local communities across Egypt by assisting and funding small, grassroots, and community run projects. The total amount of the SHP Special Fund is $200,000 per year, and the maximum support for each project is LE58,000. "Different NGOs send proposals to the embassy every year, and we choose projects that are strong enough, will benefit a large area of the community, are needed and necessary in this particular area, and will promote social and economic conditions," said Ladan Vance, SHP coordinator. "We are trying to reach every governorate in Egypt; and since 1999, we have funded 76 projects in 18 governorates," she added. Some of these projects include micro-credit loan programmes, vocational training programmes, environmental and women's health programmes, literacy programmes, mentally and physically challenged children centres, computer centres, water services, and carpentry and handicraft workshops. Marketing Dubai properties THE ARAB Company for Brokerage and Real Estate Services (ACBRS), an Egyptian real estate agency, has been chosen to market the project of Dubai Properties in Egypt and North Africa. Dubai Properties, a member of Dubai Holding, is involved in establishing large scale development projects. The aim behind the partnership is to take advantage of the Egyptian and North African interest in investing in Dubai real estate. ACBRS, an Egyptian company owned by Arab investors, is authorised to carry out all brokerage and property-related services both in and outside Egypt.
