Egyptian court accepts Assiut appeal

An Egyptian court has accepted an appeal by Assiut Cement, overruling a decision to annul an agreement under which Cemex acquired a controlling stake in the Egyptian unit. The case has now been referred to an administrative court, a Cemex official has said.

In 1999, Cemex bought a controlling stake in Assiut Cement from Egypt’s state-owned Metallurgical Industries Holding Co as part of the government's wider privatisation drive at the time.

Two former Assiut employees, who were among workers to take an early-retirement package following the privatisation, brought a lawsuit against Assiut and certain Egyptian government representatives in 2011, seeking to annul the privatisation.

The civil court ruled to annul the sale in 2012, but Assiut appealed. The civil appeals court has now accepted the petition, overruled the first instance court, and referred the case to an administrative court, said Maher Al-Haffar, Cemex's vice president of corporate communications and investor relations.

"The process will start from the beginning, and the new court will have to hear the merits of the case," Mr. Al-Haffar said. Meanwhile, cement operations are continuing and will continue normally, he added.