A group of American investors has filed an arbitration suit against the government of Egypt, requesting compensation of over US$100 million for the expropriation of their interests in the Egyptian cotton industry.

The U.S. investors include Champion Trading Company, a Delaware corporation based in Greenwich, CT and the family of Mahmoud Wahba, a Connecticut-based businessman, and a U.S. citizen of Egyptian descent.

According to the complaint, immediately after Egypt passed laws privatising and liberalizing cotton trading and ginning in 1994, the U.S. investors established the largest private cotton trading and ginning venture in Egypt.

Egyptian long stable cotton is known as the finest cotton worldwide. The venture expanded quickly, gaining a market share of about 18% of the entire annual Egyptian cotton crop (valued at US$250 million), leasing 17 cotton gins and employing around 5000 workers.

The U.S. investors allege that the government then took a series of measures that effectively destroyed the U.S. owned venture.

Inteletex - 04/09/2002