Crisis gripping the Nile Cotton Ginning Company prompted officials at Ministry of Public Business Sector to submit new proposals for settlement during meeting attended for the second time by Minister Hisham Tawfiq.
" During the meeting, principles for resolving the crisis have been reached, making a final settlement more likely and just reliant on getting the approval of shareholders as well as a ministerial committee purportedly tasked with resolving disputes, Tawfiq told Al-Mal newspaper.
NCGC's shareholders were offered keeping their stakes intact in return for a cash payment in pursuance with a recommendation issued recently by Ministerial Cabinet's guidance and Legislation Committee, according to chairman of NCGC El-Sayed El-Sefy.
" The Ministry will task two financial consulting offices with determining the fair value of the company so as to specify amount of compensation due to be sent to the state coffers," added he.
Administrative Court passed a final ruling back in 2013 nullifying privatization of NCGC and ordered it return to the state's ownership and shareholders to be indemnified. Both verdicts were never carried out while NCGC were just prevented from trading its stocks and disposing of funds since 2011.
Financial consultants are expected to finish off their reports within three weeks, El-Sefy continued, adding that most shareholders showed their readiness to accept the settlement proposed by Minister of Public Business Sector but taking a final decision remains to be relied on knowing the compensation amount.
Most lands affiliated to NCGC have been allocated to the company to use for industrial purposes, except for a plot of land that has been bought in Upper Egypt's governorate of El-menia six years following the privatization to use for re-paying debts owed to some NCGC's shareholders, according to informed sources.
Consequently, Tawfiq gave shareholders the option of retaining holdings in the company in return for compensating the state in pursuance with Fatwa and Legislation Committee's interpretation.
The two parties agreed in principle that the compensation amount shall constitute 10 percent of the spread between estimates embraced by the company deeming the land used for industrial purposes and those deeming it used for housing purposes.
