In an announcement, the Egyptian government has said it would be refunding taxes it has collected from the acquisition by Qatar National Bank of National Societe Generale Bank. The returen would be made to the shareholders of the Qatari bank, as told to Reuters by an official from the clearing company handling the transaction.
According to Tariq Abdel Bari, the managing director of Misr for Central Clearing, Depositary and Registry, the clearing company would be returning 10.2 Egyptian pounds or US$1.5 million total in taxes from the NSGB shareholders.
The then newly-installed post Mubarak Egyptian government had imposed a 10% nationalized tax on investment gains from the takeover by QNB of NSGB, much to the dismay of foreign investors in the transaction.
QNB is one of the more aggressive parties and has been on an acquisition spree as of late. It is 50% owned by the Qatar Investment Authority, the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund.
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