Cairo: In order to resolve the impasse hamstringing the privatization of Nile Cotton Ginning Company (NCGC) , shareholders of the Nile Cotton Ginning Company will have to pay 35 percent of the land market value in return for retaining their share holdings, according to informed sources.

In a meeting attended by Minister of Public Business Sector Hisham Qendil, a number of NCGC shareholders, chairman of NCGC El-Sayed El-Sefy and owner of Garhy Steel businessman Malik El-Garhy who owns 7 percent stake in the company, it was agreed that 10 and 25 percent of the land market value shall be paid by shareholders to Ministry of Public Business Sector and municipilities respectively.

Minister of Public Business Sector agreed to persuade the Ministerial Cabinet to grant the shareholders a 3-year grace period for paying their percentage of the land value through, supposedly, selling 12 plots of lands owned by the company nationwide.

The two parties okayed the inclusion of a term permitting share of NCGC to be traded on the Egyptian Stock Exchange after NCGC's General Assembly approves terms of the settlement.

" NCGC will start sell Kafr El-Sheikh's 38.750k sqm Endowments lands against EGP600mln," the informed sources predicted.
The market value of NCGC's lands portfolio is estimated at EGP10bn as compared with EGP100mln book value, the sources added, noting that selling the lands will help NCGC reap profits once again and shareholders recoup losses accumulated over the past eight years.

Source: AlMal