Archive for the 'Regulators' Category
May 10th, 2011 by Tom Minney
The National Pension Commission of Nigeria (www.pencom.gov.ng) regulates over N2 trillion ($12.8 billion) in assets under management. This has been accumulated from 4.7 million people who have opened Retirement Savings Accounts and other pensions since the Pension Reform Act 2004. The assets are up from N1.8 trillion at July 2010 and the rate of contribution is increasing each year.
Africa’s domestic savings institutions are growing fast in many countries. In some capital markets they are growing faster than the demand for capital, the issuing of new shares, bonds and other investments, and they are mopping up available liquidity in the securities markets.
Mr. Muhammad K. Ahmad, Director General of PenCom, gave the figure at the opening of a two-day workshop jointly organized by PenCom and Organisation of Pension Supervisors (IOPS) on 5 May, according to a report in Daily Trust newspaper.
Pencom is the apex authority in the pension industry responsible for regulating and supervising. The website says it aims “to be a world-class organisation that ensures the prompt payment of retirement benefits and promotes a sustainable pension industry that positively impacts on the economic development of Nigeria”. Its regulatory and supervisory activities are risk-based and consultative.
Mr Ahmad explained that pensions are long-term investments which he said are available for “investment, infrastructure and other related investment outlet”, according to the newspaper.
He also talked about capacity building which is a challenge for any industry. It is a continuous process: “We need to change the way we supervise our regulative entities to focus on those areas that form the greatest risk” in order to focus Pencom’s resources. They also want “to clearly understand and identify early warning signals so that we can take appropriate actions.”
In another news report in April, Mr Ahmad said the number of contributors to the scheme is far less than expected given that there are an estimated 42 mn workers. He also said there is only a slow rate of growth in the number of contributors due to: lack of awareness and enlightenment for would-be contributors; poor compliance from the private and informal sectors; and the fact that the scheme is not implemented in some States.
May 4th, 2011 by Tom Minney
A panel is working on a proposed bill, to be called the “Financial Report Proclamation of Ethiopia”. If it is approved by Parliament, the bill will bring fundamental changes to Ethiopia’s financial reporting system by requiring compliance with international financial reporting standards (IFRS). It will apply to any company with assets worth Birr 2 million ($116,800), turnover of more than Birr 5 mn ($ 292,000), or at least 10 employees, which will then be categorised as a “public interest entity” and obliged to follow IFRS in their financial reporting.
According to a report in Addis Fortune newspaper, 4 experts are working on the draft. They are Botu Sintayehu and Brehanu Tadesse (legal experts from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development), Munir Ahmed (instructor at the Civil Service College) and Amaha Bogale (public prosecutor for the Ministry of Justice).
The bill could be presented to Parliament in the next fiscal year (starting July).Penalties could include fines and imprisonment. Currently there is no legal requirement for compliance with accounting and auditing standards, but some laws do require the acceptance of general accounting principles and auditing standards.
The draft was inspired by similar bills in Mauritius, South Africa, and the United Kingdom (UK) that follow the common law legal system. Ethiopia uses a “continental” legal system and the panel categorised which laws to include in the proclamation and which to make directives.
Fewer details are given about board of directors, in terms of the draft. The Prime Minister will appoint the chairperson who is accountable to the Prime Minister and mandated to regulate whether the reporting system of the company complies with the standards. The board of directors will comprise 9 representative members from the government, the private sector, and industry and the chairperson and deputy chair positions should be filled by public auditors. The Prime Minister is empowered by the bill to determine the benefits of employees, including that of the CEO, before approval by board. The board members will serve for 6 years and could be re-elected after a 6-year absence.
Hikmet Abdella, country manager of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is reported as saying that adopting IFRS will make it easier for investors and businesses to evaluate the financial performances of organisations with which they might do business or invest in: “The standardised auditing system will enable the Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority (ERCA) to rely on external auditor’s reports for their tax collection. It will also afford banks the confidence to grant loans based on the financial statements of a company.”
Some experts who spoke to Fortune speculate that the bill would be expensive for small companies and generally challenging to implement.
The panel is set to have a fourth meeting during which the English provisions will be translated into Amharic, claimed sources.
May 3rd, 2011 by Tom Minney
African capital markets require more capacity-building. The recent conference of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) resolved to give support to help markets develop strong infrastructure, more investor education, good corporate governance and the capacity to enforce market rules and regulations.
Nigeria’s THISDAY newspaper (www.thisdaylive.com) has reported from the 36th annual IOSCO conference (17-20 April, Cape Town) that Secretary-General Greg Tanzer said African markets needed to have very robust trading platforms in place to accommodate expected huge inflows of foreign investments, to encourage more local investments, and to support the rules and regulations that are in place: “You have to ensure that you have strong market infrastructure. The trading platform, the clearing and settlement system, the dealing with counterparty risk to provide a secure environment must be well in place.
“When you (have a) secure environment for investments, the business opportunities that exist in Africa would become more attractive to investors. If investors have confidence in the market, they invest in the market. If they do not have confidence, they would not invest.”
The African and Middle East Region Committee (AMERC) of IOSCO will also support capacity-building. Ms. Arunmah Oteh, AMERC Chairperson and Director-General of Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission, is reported as saying that markets are becoming more sophisticated in operations and content as a result of restructuring and reforms in response to the global financial crisis. She said regulators in AMERC must sharpen their skills to meet challenges: “Regulatory capacity must constantly be developed through training and re-training. We should however not be discouraged by the huge financial cost that is usually required for capacity-building, as investing in our human capital development yields a high return on investment.”
Specifically, the capacity building efforts would be in the area of new products, including Islamic finance, derivatives, options and risk-based supervision.
IOSCO is providing technical assistance and facilitators would come from IOSCO, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other leading financial institutions training bodies for capacity-building programmes hosted in Kenya in July 2011 and Dubai in September.
The paper reports Dr. Fratern Mboya, CEO of the Capital Markets and Securities Authority (CMSA) of Tanzania, that introducing more products markets and giving incentives to investors and companies would also help to deepen the market further: “In Tanzania for instance, the withholding tax on dividend is 5% instead of 10%. For companies coming to list more than 35%, corporate tax is 25% instead of 30%. There is no capital gain tax. For long-term debts for 3 years and above, you do not pay taxes on the profit.”
It also cites Japhet Katto, CEO of Capital Markets Authority of Uganda, saying that investor education would significantly deepen markets: “In some jurisdictions.. regulators are not sure if investor education is part of their roles in the development of our markets. In countries where regulators have not been taking investor education as their function, they should do that now and incorporate in their laws that investor education is a critical factor in the deepening of our markets.”
According to the official news release, IOSCO has resolved to ask all ordinary members and associate members, which are primarily responsible for securities regulation in their jurisdictions, to apply to become full signatories to the IOSCO Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding by 1 January 2013. This is the international benchmark for enforcement cooperation and exchange of information among regulators. So far, 80 of IOSCO’s 122 eligible member regulators meet the requirements needed to become signatories with a further 36 having committed themselves to legislative changes that will allow them to do so. IOSCO’s Regional Committees, assisted by the General Secretariat, have worked alongside jurisdictions in their regions to encourage the necessary actions to join the IOSCO MMoU and will give technical assistance and advice to all members to make the changes necessary to become signatories.
Tanzania’s CMSA was admitted into the Appendix ‘A’ category of IOSCO principles, bringing to 13 the number of AMERC countries that are in Appendix ‘A’ signatory. Nigeria and South Africa were the first to achieve this.
April 4th, 2011 by Tom Minney
Tunisian financial authorities have ordered stockbrokers not to allow 123 companies to buy or sell securities. A report by Reuters says that there is a confidential list issued by regulator Conseil de Marche Financier, which is trying to investigate the extensive holdings of President Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali’s extended family.
The list is mostly privately held Tunisian companies. It includes the parent companies of 2 listed Tunisian firms, BINA Corporation, majority shareholder of Carthage Cement as well as Princesse Holding which holds stakes in Ennakl Auto and Bank Ziytouna, as well as Dubai’s Shuaa Capital. Another holding company on the list is Tunisia’s Investec which is controlled by Marwan Ben Mabrouk, son-in-law of Ben Ali, and owns a stake in mobile operator Orange Tunisie. On 31 March the interim government seized Ben Mabrouk’s 51% stake.
A stockbroker told Reuters: “We were told not to let these companies invest or withdraw money from their trading accounts. Their accounts are frozen.”
A spokersperson for Shuaa Capital, an investment bank listed in Dubai, said: “Shuaa Capital has no past or current dealings with the former president of Tunisia.”
The interim government recently said it would freeze assets of 112 people close to the ousted president pending the completion of investigations into corruption.
Egypt is also seeking to investigate businesspeople who benefitted from links to Mubarak’s regime, and many people’s assets have been frozen there too.
March 23rd, 2011 by Tom Minney
The Egyptian Exchange (www.egyptse.com) opened today at 10:30am after nearly two months, and was immediately swamped with a flood of selling, which saw the index plunge nearly 10% and trading halted a few minutes after the exchange opened. The EGX 30 Benchmark opened the day at 5,646.50 but selling pressure that had built up before trading opened saw the index start to plummet down and buyers stayed well clear. Trading was halted for 30 minutes with the index at 5,085.63, according to the EGX website.
When the exchange reopened, the mood was a little better and the index slowly edged up to 5,155.33 over the next 50 minutes before drifting through to close at 5,142.71 after a further 2 hours, down 8.9% on the day.
Foreigners and then Gulf Cooperation Council members reportedly led the sell-off.
The exchange regulator had introduced new rules to halt trading if the exchange or any shares are too volatile. According to the rules, trading was halted for half an hour after a 5% change in value in the EGX100 index and as long as the EGX Chairman decrees if it falls by 10%. Similarly if a share price moves by 10% the price will be fixed until the end of the trading session and Associated Press reports that this happened to telco Mobinil, Orascom Construction, and EFG-Hermes investment bank, while around 30% of the trading was in Orascom Telecom which rallied a bit during the day but closed the session down 2.7%.
The bourse, which combines the former Cairo and Alexandria exchanges, had closed its doors on 27 January after falling 16% in a week during of political unrest which unseated former President Hosni Mubarak on 11 February. The reopening was delayed repeatedly because of strikes which kept clearing and settlement banks from reopening. Officials also wanted to prevent economic disruption. However, today is reportedly 2 days before a deadline which could have seen the EGX removed from the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, according to an Associated Press report. Other reports today state that the trading halts could still lead to discussions about downgrading the Egyptian market to the MSCI Frontier Markets index.
Some 46 companies were suspended from trading, after acting EGX Chairman Mohammed Abdel-Salam said they had not given full requested financial disclosure or had sent incomplete information about the shareholdings of targeted individuals. This is linked to ongoing investigations into share holdings and dealings of the Mubarak regime and associated businesspeople.
Egypt has also seen pressure on the Egyptian pound currency, trading at LE5.955=$1 by Wednesday evening. The country had seen its sovereign rating downgraded and the Government had reduced growth forecasts to 4% from 6% although some thought growth could be considerably less.
Selling pressure on the stock market is set to continue, but there are still many long-term bulls who believe that democracy and better governance could be good for the economy and are likely to start snapping up bargains when share prices fall a little further.
ETF allows creation orders
New York-based asset manager Van Eck Global announced today that it is again accepting creation orders for Market Vectors Egypt Index ETF (www.vaneck.com/funds/EGPT.aspx). These were suspended on 31 January after a strong inflow into the fund from investors who felt then that political change could be good in the long-term, although it still allowed investors to redeem units. The asset manager warned: “Market Vectors Egypt Index ETF will begin accepting new creation orders in accordance with the policies and procedures detailed in the Fund’s prospectus and Statement of Additional Information that include the right to suspend creation orders again if necessary. In an effort to facilitate an orderly resumption of trading, the Egyptian Exchange will follow procedures and measures, including circuit breakers on individual stock price changes, which may limit the Fund’s ability to track the Market Vectors Egypt Index.” Reuters reported that the ETF was down 7.5% today, bringing its total loss since 26 Jan to 18%.
March 7th, 2011 by Tom Minney
The Uganda Securities Exchange (www.use.or.ug) has today (7 March) extended its trading to 5 days a week, up from 3 days.
USE Chief Executive Joseph Kitamirike said at a press conference on 4 March that it would help meet local and international demand. It will also match trading on other East African exchanges such as Dar Es Salaam and Nairobi, as the exchanges harmonize in terms of an East African common market.
The Daily Monitor newspaper reports him as saying: “This development will offer investors maximum opportunity to execute investment decisions and respond promptly to market changes.”
He earlier told the paper reasons for the extension were: increasing demand for company shares, regional integration and the desire to make trading easier: “It’s just to give an opportunity for people to trade. People sometimes make their decisions on Tuesday but they have to wait until Thursday to trade. We cannot keep our market closed on days when we can be trading across the border. If your market is closed and the other markets are open then investors who come through your market don’t have access to others.”
There are 14 companies listed for trading on the USE, including 6 cross-listing with the Nairobi Stock Exchange.
Another cross listing being processed is for UK’s Tullow Oil PLC (www.tullowoil.com), which operates Uganda’s three oil blocks. African Alliance is the adviser but the listing application was held up over a tax dispute on Tullow’s $1.45 billion purchase of 50% interests in exploration blocks formerly owned Heritage Oil PLC stakes completed last July. This dispute is reportedly close to conclusion.
March 1st, 2011 by Tom Minney
Investor confidence in Egypt is likely to be further undermined after Egyptian officials again delayed the reopening of the Egyptian Exchange (EGX – www.egyptse.com) from today (1 March). It was announced late on Monday that trading would not start today at 10:30am but would again be put off until Sunday, 6 March. There have been repeated delays to the reopening.
The exchange is expected to face strong selling pressure when the shortened trading session begins and this could trigger new measures to stop volatility and cause the bourse to halt trading very quickly after it does open. According to reports, trading on stocks will be carried on within a pre-set price range and will be halted for half an hour in there is a 5% change in value, while if a share price moves by 10% the price will be fixed until the end of the trading session. If the EGX 100 index moves by 5% trading will halt for half an hour, if it changes by 10% trading will halt for as long as decreed by the EGX Chairman.
State-run Middle East News Agency (MENA) carried a statement by exchange officials that the market would reopen on 6 March to “allow investors to profit from the government’s support to guarantee stability in the bourse.” Officials have refused some demonstrators’ demands last Sunday to cancel trades made during the 2 days before the EGX closed on 27 January, when share prices plummeted.
Investigations are continuing into business leaders close to former President Hosni Mubarak who were prominent in leading listed companies and also who owned many shares and may be trying to rearrange their finances.
Karim Helal, Managing Director of brokerage CI Capital was quoted by Associated Press saying the delays harm sentiment: “No doubt, it is certainly eroding investor confidence, and we’re losing credibility by the day in international markets. If the decision is to allow the market to absorb losses, it won’t make a difference. It will just make it worse.”
There have been sharp falls in other stock markets across the Middle East and North Africa, as pro-democracy demonstrations have been increasingly widespread and persistent. Escalating violence in Libya is pushing up oil prices, while fears there could be pressure in Saudi Arabia have also added to worries about global oil prices and the economic recovery, damaging sentiment on exchanges worldwide.
February 28th, 2011 by Tom Minney
The Egyptian Exchange (www.egyptse.com) is set to reopen tomorrow (1 March) after it closed on 27 Jan. in the popular uprising that saw President Hosni Mubarak resign on 11 Feb. It was due to open earlier, but delayed because strikes were devastating the banks on which it relies for clearing and settlement. Some selling is anticipated.
An announcement by Egypt’s Cabinet yesterday (27 Feb.) confirmed the opening and also that Ziad Bahaa El-Din, chairman of Egypt’s Financial Supervisory Authority, resigned yesterday. On 19 Feb. the FSA had announced that new trading rules will be in place to prevent exchange volatility. Daily share price movement will be limited to 1%, trading sessions are cut from 4 to 3 hours, and the cash reserve requirement for brokerages is cut from 10% to 5% of their capital.
According to a report on Bloomberg, market participants expect selling pressure. Walaa Hazem, who helps manage $1 billion in Egyptian equities and fixed income as vice president for asset management at HC Securities & Investment in Cairo, is quoted as saying: “The market should have opened much earlier. Locking people’s money is something very bad. This will put selling pressure on the market, in addition to the regional turmoil and the economic slowdown.”
Shares in the Middle East and worldwide continue under pressure as unrest sweeps across North Africa and the Middle East including Bahrain, Algeria, Yemen, Iraq, Oman, Morocco and Jordan. High oil prices may dampen hopes for a global economic recovery. According to Bloomberg today: “Saudi Arabia’s benchmark Tadawul All Share Index plunged 5% yesterday, to the lowest since June 6, on concern soaring oil prices, triggered by the Libyan clashes, may stall the global economic recovery. However, share indices moved slightly upwards in Sunday trading in Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and Jordan.
The Bloomberg GCC200 Index of companies in the Persian Gulf has tumbled 9.5% since Jan. 27, the last day shares in Egypt traded. Global depository receipts of Orascom Construction Industries also slid.”
Egypt’s unrest and resulting impact on tourism, business and investment could slow economic growth this fiscal year to about 4%, down from an earlier estimate of 6%, according to Finance Minister Samir Radwan.
However, many investors see there can be better outcomes from long-term stability and democracy. Global Depository Receipts of Orascom Construction Industries, Egypt’s biggest publicly traded builder, rose 3% in London on 25 Feb, so they have only fallen by 10% since 27 Jan. Orascom Telecom Holding SAE gained 0.9% in London since 27 Jan, says Bloomberg. It also quotes Walaa Hazem saying that some industries, including food and telecommunications, will be in a “better position” than others when the market opens. “People are still going to eat and talk on the telephone,” he said, singling out fixed-line operator Telecom Egypt. He says that key banks “won’t have good growth stories but they have strong balance sheets.”
Ahmed Ezz (chairman of Egypt’s biggest producer of steel) and Yasseen Mansour, (chief executive officer of Cairo-based real-estate developer Palm Hills Development SAE) who were both seen as close to former president Mubarak, are among executives referred by Public Prosecutors for trial on corruption charges. Both companies said their operations are run independently of the chairmen.
Bond yields are also higher than before the unrest, although there have been fluctuations. According to Bloomberg data, the yield on Egypt’s 5.75% dollar bond due 2020 has dropped 29 basis points to 6.92% percent after reaching a high of 7.21% on 31 January, compared to 5.16% at the start of the year. Yields on treasury bills have reached 2-year highs since 11Feb.
On 27 Feb, Egypt sold 2 billion pounds ($340 million) in 91-day bills and LE 3 bn in 273-day notes in an auction, falling short of its target of raising LE3.5 bn.
Bloomberg quotes Moustafa Assal, MD of Cairo-based Beltone Financial’s fixed income unit: “The high yields, especially on the longer-term notes, are a big concern because the Government is becoming unable to cover its intended issuances. They will not come down unless there’s political stability.”
Bloomberg also quotes Amro Halwani, senior equity sales trader at Shuaa Capital PSC in Saudi Arabia: “With no clear end to the geo-political turmoil in the region, local investors are erring on the side of caution. The regional uncertainty, with Libya this week’s reason to sell, has pushed fundamentals out of the picture. The surge in oil is an ongoing threat of a possible derailing in the global economic recovery, and gave investors a reason to move away from riskier assets.”
February 14th, 2011 by Tom Minney
Africa’s newest stock exchange is the Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE), launched on 31 Jan to start trading the shares of brewer Brasseries et Limonaderies du Rwanda BRALIRWA (www.bralirwa.com). The exchange replaces the Rwanda-Over-The-Counter (OTC) market which has operated since 31 Jan 2008.
Prime Minister Bernard Makuza launched the RSE and said it is a key development milestone, according to news reports: “Building a strong financial system is a key element of Vision 2020; the Government will continue to facilitate the development of the capital market.” Finance Minister John Rwangombwa said Government had sustained a stable macroeconomic environment over the years and laid the appropriate environment to attract both domestic and international investments.
The RSE was formed as a dormant company after a March 2007 decree that established the Capital Markets Advisory Council (www.cmac.org.rw) to set up and regulate the transitional process towards a full stock exchange. CMAC had run the ROTC and would now be transformed into a Capital Markets Authority to act as regulator. The legal framework aims to comply with standards of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).
BRALIRWA IPO
Bloomberg agency reported that BRALIRWA shares surged 62% when trading began on the RSE on 31 Jan. It quoted Robert Mathu, Executive Director of CMAC, saying the stock first traded at 220 Rwandan francs ($1.67).
The Rwandan Government aimed to raise RwFr 22.1 billion (US$37.3 million) from selling its 30% stake in BRALIRWA. Of this 128.6 mn shares, or 25% of the company, were sold in the public offer at RwFr 136 francs (22.9 US cents) per share. The Government said this was a discount to the valuation of RwFr 170 each share, in order to encourage buyers.
Government was to sell the remaining 5% of its shareholding to Heineken Group, which earlier bought 70% of the brewer from the Government. BRALIRWA sells beers such as Amstel, Guinness, Mutzig and local brand Primus and has an estimated 95% market share and also bottles Coca Cola products. Net annual revenues are reported at around $93 mn.
The offer reportedly attracted $80 mn in bids. MBEA Brokerage Services Rwanda was lead transaction advisor. The IPO campaign included investor education, TV and radio ads and Rwanda’s first research reports.
Co-transaction advisor Renaissance Capital sold 60% of the international tranche offering to international and local investors across several continents. There were share orders from Africa, Europe and the United States and the international portion was oversubscribed more than 5 times.
The shares ended the week on 11 Feb at RwFR 189, according to the market report from CMAC.
Future share offers
Bloomberg reports that the Government is discussing the sale this year of its 10% stake in MTN Rwanda, 55% owned by South Africa’s MTN Group Ltd. Minister Rwangombwa said another shareholder with a 35% stake will probably also offer its shares in public offer.
State-owned Banque de Kigali, Rwanda’s biggest lender by assets, will sell shares in May 2011 and cement-manufacturer Ciments du Rwanda Ltd., Rwanda Commercial Bank (BCR) and insurance company SONARWA are among other companies partly owned by the State who may sell stock through the RSE.
Contract to Kenya’s central depository
Rwanda contracted Kenya’s Central Depository and Settlement Corporation (www.cdsckenya.com) for a year. The company said it will train staff of the central Bank National Du Rwanda (BNR). The bank aims to procure and install a system to run a central depository for the equity market using its own staff by the end of the contract. CDSC has handled the BRALIRWA IPO and many of the biggest share offerings in East Africa, including Safaricom.
Kenyan depositories and share registrars are competing to offer their services more widely in the region.
Market structure
CMAC’s Mr Mathu told East African Business Week that the law establishing Capital Markets and the law regulating the market were to be published before end of January.
Previously the Government owned majority shares in the dormant RSE, but now it has reportedly reduced this to “at least 20%”. The private sector, including stockbrokers, holds the majority. Mr Mathu said: “We would like to see a stock exchange that is going to be pro-business, active and capable of providing a very efficient service to the investors both domestic and international.” Stockbrokers have welcomed their inclusion in the ownership of the stock exchange saying it will hold them responsible for protecting the bourse.
According to statistics from CMAC, bonds worth RwFr 26 bn have been issued and listed for trading on the ROTC, including 7 treasury bonds (RwFr 25 bn) and one Commercial Bank of Rwanda (BCR) corporate bond of RwFr 1bn. Bonds traded on the secondary market have so far generated a turnover of RwFr 654.4 mn. Two Kenyan companies, Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) and Nation Media Group (NMG), are cross-listed.
February 14th, 2011 by Tom Minney
The Egyptian Exchange (www.egyptse.com) has decided to postpone its reopening until Wednesday 16 February. The stock exchange, based in Cairo, closed on 27 Jan after the main EGX 30 Index fell 16% in a week, and was due to open again yesterday (Sunday 13 Feb). The decision to delay the opening comes on the back of talks with regulators, stockbrokers and the Misr for Central Clearing, Depository and Registry (MCDR, www.mcsd.com.eg).
When the exchange reopens steps are expected to be in place to stop precipitous falls and price fluctuations. Many foreigners had sought to take out money and it is not yet clear how sentiment will shape up following the resignation of former President Hosni Mubarak on 11 Feb and the army take over pending democratic elections scheduled for six months time. The EGX says it is working on technical requirements needed to start trading as well as procedures to be used as soon as the trading begins. Telecommunications and Internet services may also have been disrupted.
The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday (13 Feb) that late yesterday the Central Bank of Egypt (www.cbe.org.eg) said that banks in Egypt will close on Monday and Tuesday due to workers’ strikes and the birth of Prophet Mohammad. Its emailed statement reads: “Amidst the strikes of worker in some authorities, including public banks … the central bank has decided to close banks on Monday Feb. 14 and Tuesday Feb. 15 on the occasion” of Prophet Mohammad’s birth.
Meanwhile schools and universities were reported to be reopening over the past weekend and many industries had said they were back and working close to normal by 7 Feb.