CAIRO: A consortium led by Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank made the only bid for Egypt s National Bank for Development, offering less than a third of its market price, an official at the Egyptian lender said on Thursday. A decision on whether to accept the bid, announced on Wednesday by the Egyptian stock exchange, would be made within two weeks, said the official, who asked not to be named. A group of UAE investors, including Abu Dhabi Islamic and Emirates International Investment Co., offered to buy 100 percent of the Egyptian bank at 11 Egyptian pounds ($1.93) a share. The price was below the year low of 13.14 pounds for National Bank s stock, which last traded on Tuesday at 36.17 pounds. It was the only bid. We expect a decision within two weeks, the official at the Egyptian bank said. The UAE consortium is effectively led by the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, the largest member of the United Arab Emirates federation. Emirates International, owned by the ruling family, is the biggest shareholder of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank. National Bank for Development had 28.19 million shares issued at the end of 2006, which would value the bid at 310 million pounds. The winning bank must undertake to raise the bank s capital to 500 million pounds, the stock exchange said on Thursday. The Egyptian government owns 17.86 percent of National Bank, with the rest in private hands, it said. Egypt s central bank is encouraging consolidation in the banking sector and wants the government to reduce its holdings in lenders. Bank of Alexandria was the first of four big state-owned banks to be privatized last year.
