Com.int.bk.regs Regulatory News (CBKD)

21 Aug 2006 07:00

Commercial Intnl Bank (Egypt) SAE21 August 2006 Commercial International Bank (CIB), Mr. Naguib Sawiris, Oasis Capital andDynamic Securities form Strategic Alliance in Financial Services Sector throughinvestment in Commercial International Capital Holding (CI-CH)" Commercial International Bank (CIB), Egypt's prime bank, and Mr. Naguib Sawirisannounced today their long-term strategic alliance, together with Oasis CapitalEgypt (Oasis) and Dynamic Securities Trading (Dynamic), through an investmentand consolidation of their financial businesses in Commercial InternationalCapital Holding (CI-CH) CIB's full fledged investment bank arm, thus forming thelargest financial services group in Egypt. The new CI-CH will be looking toleverage the strategic alliance with CIB and Mr. Sawiris to expand its businesslocally and regionally, as well as join forces with Dynamic to further developthe retail brokerage market and with Oasis to strengthen its private equity anddirect investment offering. Under this transaction CI-CH will acquire Dynamic and Blue Nile Consulting (themanagement company of Oasis) and subsequently Mr. Sawiris and Oasis willpurchase an equity stake in CI-CH and assume board responsibilities. It is envisioned that by this alliance, the newborn CI-CH will be ideallypositioned to leverage the existing platforms of the parties as well as benefitfrom their regional outreach in order to expand into nearby financial markets.The new entity will offer a wide plethora of investment services such as retailand institutional brokerage, asset management, private equity and alternativeinvestments, research and investment banking. In a joint statement by Mr. Hisham Ezz Al-Arab, Chairman and Managing Directorof CIB and Ms. Sahar Sallab Vice Chairman and Managing Director of CIB andChairman of CI-CH, stated that, CIB highly values the reputation and integrityof the partners involved in this alliance and are excited with the new local andregional plans of CI-CH. They reiterated that the essential driver forprofitability behind this venture will be tapping the strength of each entitythrough partnering with the staff as equal stakeholders and motivating them viathe appropriate incentive schemes. They further clarified, that this alliancecomes as a commitment from CIB to strengthen, consolidate and expand itsInvestment Banking business under one roof and anchor the firm's local andregional strategic partnership through the alliance with active investors as Mr.Sawiris and Oasis. Mr. Naguib Sawiris, also the Chairman of Oasis, pointed out that this investmentcomes as the second big investment in Egypt outside the telecom sector for bothhim personally and for Oasis and demonstrates the appreciation and commitment tothe exceptionally competent management and staff at CIB and CI-CH. He furtherelaborated, that this transaction represents an endorsement of the businessmodel, industry leadership and financial flexibility of the parties involved. Hestated that this investment comes at a time to solidify the strong belief ofOasis in the robustness of the Egyptian economy and as a vote of confidence inthe reform initiatives undertaken by the Government. On his part Mr. Ahmed Hassanein the founder of Dynamic, said that he is veryhappy with this conglomeration of talent and integrity. He further elaboratedthat CIB is one of the best managed and most profitable financial servicesorganizations in the region. It enjoys an unparalleled reputation for success invirtually every market, coupled with the business development abilities of Mr.Sawiris and private equity expertise of Oasis, he believes, that the new companywill offer unprecedented value and services for potential clients. Mr. Hussein El-Guindy, CEO of CI-CH asserted that the combination of CI-CH,Dynamic and Oasis with the added strategic angle of CIB and Mr. Sawiris createsan industry leader with the ability to provide best of breed financial andinvestment services to clients and businesses. He further elaborated that thesefirms are complementary in customer, geographic and product focus, and promisedthat CI-CH we will continue providing the highest level of service to existingcustomers while growing new business in rapidly expanding regional financialmarkets through its presence and product range. About CIB CIB is Egypt's leading private sector commercial bank in terms of total assets,loan portfolio and customer deposits. The Bank was incorporated in 1975 as ajoint venture between the National Bank of Egypt and Chase Manhattan Bank With a 5% market share, 114 outlets, and 315 ATMs, CIB is the most profitablebank in Egypt; with the largest private sector strategically located retailbanking network. It also offers a full range of financial services through itsCorporate Banking, Investment Banking, Retail Banking, Direct Equity, Brokerage,Asset Management, Leasing, Insurance business, etc. CIB is the best-rated bank in Egypt, capped only by the Sovereign ceiling forEgypt, set at BB+. The Bank has been awarded as the best bank in Egypt forseveral years in a row by Euromoney, Banker's Magazine, and other internationalfinancial institutions. CIB is also the number one Egyptian private-sector bankin profitability, net worth and loan book. CIB is publicly listed in Egypt, Kuwait, and UAE. Its GDR's have also beenlisted on the London Stock Exchange since 1996. About CI-CH CI-CH is the holding company majority owned by the CIB. Its service offeringincludes a wide range of investment services to local, regional andinternational clients. These include investment banking, brokerage, assetmanagement, research, private equity and alternative investments. Among itsholdings are Commercial International Brokerage Company (CIBC), CommercialInternational Asset Management (CIAM), Commercial International InvestmentBanking (CIIB) and United brokerage Company (UBC) in the UAE. About Oasis Capital Egypt Oasis Capital Egypt is a US$ 150 million private equity fund exclusivelytargeting Egyptian non-listed investments. The fund partners are Naguib Sawiris,Olayan Finance Group and Majed Al-Futtaim Investment Trust. About Dynamic Securities Dynamic was set up in 1995 by the Hassanein family as a securities dealer. Sinceinception, the firm maintained a niche for itself in the retail market. It hasbeen consistently ranked with the top ten dealers on the CASE in terms of marketshare. About Naguib Sawiris Mr. Sawiris is the Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief ExecutiveOfficer of Orascom Telecom Holding. Mr. Sawiris is also the Chairman of Wind inItaly, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Egyptian Company for MobileServices (ECMS). Mr. Sawiris also serves as a member of the Board of Directorsof the Egyptian Counsel for Foreign Affairs, the Consumer Rights ProtectionAssociation and the Cancer Society of Egypt. He has been elected to themembership of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) International AdvisoryCommittee. Mr. Sawiris received a degree in Mechanical Engineering and aMaster's degree in Technical Administration from the Swiss Institute ofTechnology and a degree from ETH Switzerland This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange