Stock market investors had one of their hardest years since the resurrection of the market in the early 1990s. While the first four months of 2008 witnessed a buoyant activity reflected in a 14 per cent increase, by 5 May their fortunes began to change. Besides an increase in the cost of production on listed companies, decisions issued 5 May were read by foreign investors as the government compromising its investor-friendly approach by withdrawing the free investment benefits from the energy intensive industries. They consequently began to quit the market. From this point on to the end of the year the market headed southward, seemingly endlessly. The international financial meltdown added to the market's woes, weighing down more on the index with foreign investors quitting the market, pushing the index down to around 4,500 points, around 57 per cent lower than its level at the beginning of the year and 62 per cent lower than its highest ever point of 12,000 in early May. CEMENT COMPANIES: Twenty executives heading seven local cement companies were found guilty of monopolistic practices and fined LE10 million each, marking the first verdict issued under the country's three-year-old anti- trust law. Those convicted included senior executives from the National Cement Company, Al-Ameriyah Cement, Suez Cement, Misr Qena Cement, Torah Cement, Misr Beni Sweif Cement, Cemex and Sinai Cement. The verdict, issued on practices that took place in 2006, did little to rein in the escalation in cement prices, which started the year at LE350 per tonne and ended it at LE500. The inflated local demand due to fears of further increase in cement and steel international prices has strengthened demand. In an effort to stabilise the market, the government imposed a 10-month export ban on cement in January, and lifted it in October to help companies hedge against the aftermath of the financial crisis. In addition, it gave operation licences to 14 new cement factories, set to start production in two years. The new factories will increase the overall production by 20 million tonnes. Youssef Boutros Ghali: Egypt's minister of finance was chosen to head the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), the policy steering committee of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to be the IMFC's first chairman from an emerging market country. The IMFC head's position has always been held by a European since the inception of the IMF after World War II, except briefly by Canada in the 1980s. Ghali has been a member of the Egyptian government since 1993. Prior to becoming minister of finance in July 2004, he held a range of ministerial positions in the areas of international cooperation, economic affairs, and foreign trade. Ghali is a former member of IMF staff. He was Egypt's chief negotiator for reform programmes with the IMF in the late 1980s and 1990s. Ghali engineered a new tax regime that added LE1 billion in income taxes to the government coffers in the last two years, together with a new controversial property tax law to be implemented soon.
