Dispute settled THE ONGOING dispute between the Egyptian government and businessman Wagih Siag finally came to a settlement after an agreement was concluded between the two parties in Paris last Monday. The settlement came as Siag consented to drop the law suits he filed against the Egyptian government and to disregard a verdict issued on his behalf by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) which he resorted to as an international arbitrary body to judge in his case against the Egyptian government. By means of this settlement, Siag will, in return, get cash compensations that are $60 million less than the amount earlier approved by the ICSID. Siag's dispute with the government started in 1996 when the latter decided to withdraw a stretch of land that was allocated to him in Taba in 1989. Charting progress EGYPT and the EU are stepping up cooperation on employment and social affairs, Mona El-Fiqi reports. On Saturday, 14 November, Aisha Abdel-Hadi, minister of manpower and migration met with Vladimir Apidla, EU employment, social affairs and equal opportunities commissioner to discuss cooperation with the EU on employment and social issues. Both sides exchanged experiences on tackling the social impacts of the global economic crisis and discussed progress towards social and employment objectives under the EU's Neighbourhood Policy. "Egypt is a key partner for the EU in the Mediterranean region and we want to step up our cooperation on employment and social issues while promoting social justice," said Commissioner Apidla. "We call on Egypt to continue its reforms in line with the employment and social objectives agreed under the European Neighbourhood Policy. Through our cooperation we can help transform the Mediterranean into an area of peace, democracy, cooperation and prosperity," he added. In a press conference held this week, Abdel-Hadi affirmed the importance of the role played by the EU in fostering employment by establishing a number of projects to provide training and technical education, particularly in the textiles sector, in addition to programmes to develop industrial safety. Abdel-Hadi added that she discussed with Apidla the social policies being applied in Egypt to fight poverty, reduce child labour and stop illegal migration. As part of the European Neighbourhood Policy, Egypt and the EU agreed a series of social and employment objectives for the period 2007-2010, including cooperation on combating poverty, tackling discrimination and promoting equal opportunities, fostering employment and strengthening social dialogue. The commissioner's visit provided an opportunity for both sides to take stock of progress towards these objectives while also sharing experiences in responding to the social and employment impacts of the global economic slowdown. Apidla aimed also to enhance cooperation between the commission and the Egyptian co-presidency of the Union for the Mediterranean in implementing the framework for actions agreed by EuroMed employment and labour ministers at their first conference in November 2008 in Marrakech. During his visit, 13-16 November, Commissioner Apidla met with Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, Ali Meselhi, minister of social solidarity, and Mushira Khatab, minister of family and population. He also met with Egyptian social partners and visited a number of EU-funded projects in the social field. Pioneers and Beltone merger BELTONE Financial Holding, one of the fastest growing investment banks in the Middle East, and Pioneers Holding Company, one of the leading financial services institutions in the Middle East, agreed upon a full merger that will take place through a capital increase in Pioneers Holding via a share swap. Concerning administration, both companies will be managed independently. Pioneers Holding's capital will be increased by nearly 100 million shares and this will reflect the valuation of Beltone Financial and its subsidiaries in the transaction. The valuation will constitute approximately 17 per cent of Pioneers' capital after the completion of the merger. "The main goal and the strategic base of this merger is completing each other," said Alaaeddin Saba, CEO of Beltone Financial. He also said that the merger would form the largest investment banking entity in the region. Beltone not only possesses a large client network of high net worth individuals, and strong relations with leading institutions globally and regionally, but also contributes strong investment banking and assets management operations, the latter with assets under management of approximately LE26 billion. Mansour Al-Gammal, Pioneers Holding vice-chairman, stated that his company controls the largest retail brokerage client base in Egypt of around 90,000 investors served through a network of 30 branches covering Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Syria. He added that Pioneers ranks fifth in brokerage operations in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Al-Gammal confirmed that this new partnership would benefit both companies, helping them to better serve their clients through the provision of world class products and services. Bosnia for business THE FIRST meetings of Egyptian-Bosnian Bilateral Committee headed by Minister of State for International Cooperation Fayza Abul-Naga and Bosnian Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Malden Zirojevic were held in Cairo last week. The meetings were also attended by high-level delegations from the education, agriculture, tourism, culture, electricity, investment and health sectors, as well as representatives of business organisations, the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and the private sector. During the two day meetings, four memoranda of understanding were signed: the first between the Egyptian General Authority for Books and the Bosnian Federal Archive; the second between the Egyptian General Authority for Investment and Free Zones and the Bosnian Agency for Boosting Investment; the third between Al-Mansoura University and Biahc University; and the fourth between the ministries of civil aviation in the two countries. Matchmaking meetings between businessmen from both sides were held to encourage bilateral cooperation, particularly in the furniture, pharmaceuticals and food industries. Non-oil exports on the rise ACCORDING to figures from the Ministry of Trade and Industry, non-oil exports rose during October 2009 by 11 per cent, reaching $1.368 billion compared to $1.234 billion in October 2008. Mohamed Shafik, chairman of the General Authority for Exports and Imports Control, announced that agricultural exports increased to $99 million in October 2009 compared to $60 million in October 2008 while textile exports reached $46 million compared to $35 million in October 2008. Exports of the Food Industries Council reached $167 million compared to $143 million a year earlier. Although exports of the majority of sectors registered an increase in volume, exports in some sectors declined. Furniture exports dropped from $21 million in October 2008 to $18 million in 2009. Engineering and electronic exports also dropped, from $190 million in 2008 to $173 million in 2009. New mortgage financing THE NEWLY formed government financial control agency, the Egyptian Financial Supervision Authority (EFSA), has licensed the first mortgage finance company. The new company, Sakan Finance, will enter the mortgage market in December with a total startup capital of LE150 million and approved licensed capital of LE1 billion. Shareholders in the new venture include the Housing and Development Bank with a stake of 28 per cent, Al-Yassin Holding with a 51 per cent share, and the remaining 21 per cent share held by a Dubai based investment group. Ahmed Haggag, consultant to the board of Sakan, said the timing is right for the new venture. "In the wake of the recent financial crisis, the real estate market has become more clearly defined," said Haggag. "The corrective actions on real estate pricing and the direction of key developers towards the middle and upper-middle class market segment have recreated a true demand for realistically priced real estate units and developments." Haggag added that as fears of the financial crisis begin to fade a new beginning for property finance companies in Egypt could be realised. According to Haggag, with the increase of players in the market and accelerated growth rates, the market is ready to overcome the challenges of expensive, difficult and time-consuming property financing options and lengthy property registry processes.
