image copyright social media
The news of the restructuring of the Egyptian “Oriental Weavers” company and the sale of the two sisters, Yasmine and Farida Mohamed Farid Khamis, their entire shares in the company to an investment fund we established in Britain, sparked widespread controversy in the media circles and on social media.
In light of the economic crisis in Egypt, the deal was not going unnoticed, as some saw that selling the two sisters their shares to the British company, which they later declared their ownership of, is one of the means of opposing the authority in Egypt, but also resisting it, while others considered that what happened in the restructuring process is a formality. It is a form of tax evasion that should be prosecuted.
what’s the story
The Egyptian company “Oriental Weavers” announced that Yasmine and Farida Mohamed Farid Khamis sold their entire shares in the company to the FYK Limited fund for 1.4 billion pounds, an event that occupied the Egyptian public opinion over the past days. The company indicated, in a disclosure statement to the Egyptian Stock Exchange, that Yasmine Mohamed Farid Khamis sold her entire stake in the company at a rate of 12.31%, with a number of shares amounting to 81.87 million shares, at a price of 8.4 pounds per share, with a total value of 687.74 million pounds, and that her sister, Farida Muhammad Farid Khamis, sold the same number of shares and the same total value.
Oriental Weavers Manifesto
image copyright Oriental waves
The disclosure statement submitted by Oriental Weavers to the Egyptian Stock Exchange stated that, based on the ownership transfer process that took place on the shares of Oriental Weavers Carpet Company, with the mechanism of large-scale transactions, which came within the framework of restructuring between related groups for 163.7 million shares, which represents 24.61% of the capital shares. Oriental Weavers Carpet Company.
FYK Limited has become the owner of 24.61%, which is the same percentage that was owned by Yasmine and Farida Mohamed Farid Fouad Khamis, who are 100% owners of Fyk Limited, meaning that they still maintain their ownership in the Oriental Weavers Company indirectly.
The disclosure statement indicated that the restructuring process will not result in any modification in the ownership structure of Oriental Weavers, as there will be no change in the final beneficiary and then the groups associated with Oriental Weavers, and the ownership ratios of the associated groups after the aforementioned restructuring process will become completely identical with the ownership ratios of the groups. associated with the restructuring process.
According to experts, with the transfer of ownership of the company to a British investment company, the company is subject to international agreements on international commercial arbitration in the event of any dispute.
The Central Bank of Egypt replies:
image copyright cbe.org
On the day immediately following the Egyptian Weavers’ statement, the Central Bank of Egypt issued strict instructions to Egyptian banks against keeping dollar bills outside Egypt.
The Central Bank revealed that some individuals have established companies of a special nature outside the country, which carry out mediation, especially in the fields of export and tourism, and aim to keep foreign exchange outside the country and deal with it outside the legal framework.
The Central Bank added that some of these companies are requesting the procurement of foreign exchange from the Egyptian banking sector, despite their retention of accumulated foreign exchange earnings abroad, and in the event that this is proven, all prescribed measures will be taken against these companies and their shareholders.
Controversy on social media:
A heated debate erupted between two tweeters on the Twitter platform regarding the legality of this deal.
Some of the tweeters said that the two women had made this deal out of fear of the scenario of Safwan Thabet, an Egyptian businessman and owner of the “Juhayna” company, who was arrested by the authorities years ago on charges of his association with the Muslim Brotherhood.
Some of the tweeters saw that this step indicates the rivalry between the people and the government.
On the other hand, Eman indicated that the joy and assistance that the two women received from the Egyptian people indicate hostility with the government
Some considered that what happened was a genius act.
On the other hand, tweeters launched a sharp attack on the restructuring, describing it as circumventing the law to smuggle money out of Egypt.
Some even demanded that they boycott purchases from the Oriental Weavers.
While some indicated that capital is looking for its own interest only.
Oriental Weavers
Oriental Weavers is considered one of the most prominent and oldest companies specialized in the carpet industry over the past years. It has gained great fame after it was founded by the late businessman Mohamed Farid Khamis, more than four decades ago. It sells its products in the Egyptian, Arab and Gulf markets, and exports huge quantities of its products. For many countries of the world, it also has two factories outside Egypt, one in China and the other in the United States of America.
Khamis was one of the largest businessmen in Egypt, and founded the company and made it one of the largest carpet manufacturing companies in the world. Khamis holds a Bachelor’s degree in commerce and postgraduate studies in the textile industry from the United States of America.
Before his death, Khamis owned a group of companies working in several fields other than the carpet industry, such as “Orientals for Petrochemicals”, “Orientals for Urban Development” and others, as he was the largest shareholder in the British University in Egypt, as well as Al-Shorouk Academy.