Kaki Group Co Ltd, property of Saudi investor Sheikh Abd El-Elaah Kaki, said it has no intention to pursue ownership of Tanta Flax and Oil Company, and urged the government to implement previously issued verdicts to renationalise the firm and return back money owed to the group.
In a statement issued by the company on Wednesday, it urged the Ministry of Investment to end disputes with investors, as promised by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.
“Although four years have passed since an administrative verdict was issued, the government – represented by the Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade – has not executed the court’s ruling by returning the value of the transaction to the group,” the statement said.
The Saudi company had purchased the company in 2005 from the state, as part of a privatisation wave adopted by the government then. In September 2012, the administrative court ruled against the privatisation of several firms, including Tanta Flax and Oil Company, citing irregularities in the procedures, and thus ordering their renationalisation.
According to the company’s statement, the verdict has yet to see sunlight. “Kaki Group Co. Ltd urges the Ministry of Investment to activate pledges made by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in “Egypt the Future” Conference… in which he urged the government to make amends with investors, and give them back their rights,” the statement said.
The latest development brings to the forefront that a number of disputes still persist between the Egyptian government and local and international investors, after 2011, when labour activists challenged deals sealed by the government of Hosni Mubarak, by which public companies were sold to the private sector.
While many cases were resolved, some remain lingering. Kaki group said in its statement that it has been the target of labour strikes and a smearing campaign by media outlets “while the government remained idle”.
“Animosity towards investors continue, and it’s about time that the government sticks to its promises and gives back our rights,” the statement said.
