Egyptian Emirati Alliance: We are examining the most appropriate way of structuring business in Egypt for several corporations using international expertise to provide the Egyptian market with the best experience.
Khodeir: Activating the legal steps to protect the stock market begins with magnifying the culture of governance.
Cairo, October 2015: The Egyptian Emirati alliance in the form of an association for legal consultation, announced their optimism about the investment climate in Egypt and expected an increase in investments of at least 10%, pointing out that they have received many inquiries from international companies about investment laws in Egypt, and stressing that those inquiries have significantly improved in recent days, especially after the announcement of the new super gas field discovery which was discovered a few weeks after the success of the scheduled completion of the new Suez Canal project.
Egypt’s keenness to engage in mega-projects using international expertise has helped it take the lead on the list of the most FDI attractive African countries during 2014. This was stated on the sidelines of the official celebration of the new association at the Four Seasons Hotel in the presence of senior jurists and investors in Egypt. The association aims to support the development of all projects in the “new Egypt” by providing legal consultancy to companies, individuals on trade transactions, and business and investment legalities in Egypt to assist in achieving sustainable economic growth.
The association of “Al Tamimi & Company and Khodeir, Nour & Taha” explained that the inquiries included the founding structures of appropriate corporates in Egypt, the procedures required and investment regulations framework. As a result, the association was prompted to issue a set of legal releases that show the undergoing legislative developments. The association also expressed an intention to participate in and organise a series of conferences and seminars to review these developments.
Essam Al Tamimi, Senior Partner at Al Tamimi & Company (corporate law firm), expressed his pride at this association that reflects the profound ties between Egypt and the UAE. He also emphasised that, the ultimate goal of the several-month-old association is supporting investors worldwide to have more access to legal information and proper consultation to meet the developing needs, through the experienced members of the [Egyptian] law firm as well as cooperating with the network of lawyers across the Middle East with global proficiency, explaining that this entity is primarily concerned with encouraging investment in Egypt and giving confidence to investors worldwide.
Mohammed Khodeir, Partner and Head of the Cairo office, added that a team of legal experts has recently been studying the conditions of the Egyptian Stock Exchange and all areas of investment to determine the legal framework in which to be able to protect trading from legal gaps that may affect the overall investment environment in Egypt in addition to protecting the stock market against manipulation by devising good governance frameworks.
He pointed out that the legislative amendments introduced to the investment, taxes and corporate regulations meet the needs of investors at the moment, but require accuracy in implementation to promote investment, support and boost the Egyptian economy that is considered the cornerstone in the Arab region and the Middle East.
It is worth mentioning that Khodeir, Nour & Taha (in association with Al Tamimi & Company) is focusing on four major segments. The first is concerned with establishment and structuring of business, restructuring, licensing and administrative approvals for different projects in all sectors.
The second segment concerns itself with providing legal consulting to different transactions such as mergers, acquisitions, capital increases, restructuring as well as stock market offerings as determined by international expertise within the association staff that includes legal experts from 48 countries worldwide. The third segment includes the settlement of disputes and arbitration, while the fourth segment includes advising to banking sector with regard to the requirements of the Central Bank, obtaining various approvals, debt restructuring, evaluation and sale of portfolios and various financing transactions.
Al Tamimi & Company is the largest law firm in the Middle East comprising of 56 partners, 330 lawyers and a total of 620 staff across all countries in which it operates, including the UAE, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.