Omar Effendi, a subsidiary of Holding Co for Construction and Development (HCCD), has signed a settlement agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) regarding its debt. Upon the agreement, HCCD will pay USD35 million to IFC as a final settlement, according to a statement released jointly by the Egyptian ministry of finance.
In a news conference on Thursday, the ministry said that within the government's efforts exerted to set the stage for an investment-friendly environment and to resolve any obstacles that might face investors, the settlement agreement was signed.
This was attended by Minister of Public Business Sector Hesham Tawfik and Minister of Finance Mohammed Moeit.
Both IFC and Omar Effendi Company have to take all necessary procedures to waive the ongoing lawsuits filed by each of them or cases related to any of the concerned agreements in order to settle the dispute, revealed the statement.
The agreement ended a dispute that had been ongoing for years between both parties. In 2011, the Administrative Court ruled the suspension of the sale of Omar Effendi and the company stopped repaying the loan it received in 2007.
The cabinet adopted in November a number of decisions taken by the ministerial committee to settle disputes of investment contracts, including the settlement of the dispute between IFC and Omar Effendi that has sold 90 percent of its capital shares to a Saudi firm and businessmen.
IFC signed on June 20 in 2007 a loan agreement with Omar Effendi – the financing included a USD40 million loan and 5% stake to support the company’s modernization efforts.
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector in developing countries.
