CAIRO: Banque du Caire and Misr Beltone Asset Management, subsidy of the Cairo-based Belton Financial investment bank, established a new LE 100 million money market fund, Al-Qahirah Al-Youmy, they announced in a press conference Tuesday. The certificates will be issued at a par value of LE 10 and the minimum subscription value will be LE 5,000. The targeted groups of the new fund include "individual investors, small companies, and the philanthropic organizations, Alaa Eddin Saba, chairman of Belton Financial, said. The fund "would enhance their cash management capabilities, he added. The fund will offer low-risk, competitive return to the targeted groups of inventors. Saba believes the capital will reach "around LE 1 billion by the end of the year. "The find will combine the advantages of both the savings and current accounts; where returns are accumulated on a daily basis without having to freeze your account. Cash withdrawals are available via the ATM network at all times, he said. The new fund will give a 7.5 percent return to investors, but this percentage "may rise or fall depending on the market, but it will always offer competitive return compared to other investing tools, Saba explained. Banque du Caire will facilitate deposits and withdrawals with no fees, and the transactions can be made from any of its 221 branches nationwide. The fund will invest in treasury bills (T-bills), bank saving certificates, other funds, bank deposits and other financial tools, but will not invest in the stock market, Saba explained. He quelled concerns about using new financial tools - that allegedly contributed to the financial crisis - making a distinction between reliable tools that have been used in the global financial market for years and new tools that have recently appeared and destabilized the market. Banque du Caire was established in 1952 as a government-owned joint stock company, but is now fully owned by Bank Misr. "Since the new [Banque du Caire] board has been formed in September 2008, the bank's main strategy is to maintain stability, put [the bank] in a competitive position [in the market], said Atef Ibrahim, Banque du Caire's managing director. Al-Qahirah Al-Youmy fund is the third new money market fund Belton has been chosen to manage. The first was established by ABC Bank last February and the second was established by HSBC last March.
