An official involved in the BNP Paribas deal stated that the CBE had agreed in a meeting with its Board of Directors last Tuesday to sell the BNP Paribas to Emirates NBD, however official approval for the deal was not given until today.

The deal will cost NBD $500m for all BNP Paribas’ shares.

The CBE also agreed to allow the Qatari QNB Group to buy the entire shares of NSGB.

In a speech made last Thursday, QNB stated that it was currently undergoing measures to begin a takeover of NSGB in accordance with Egyptian law.

QNB first made the offer to the CBE on 19 December 2012, and expects to complete the takeover within the next two months.

Société Générale Bank, which QNB has agreed to buy, represents 17.77% of NSGB. However QNB has also expressed interest in buying the remaining shares of the bank at the same rate per share as that agreed upon with Société Générale Bank. This will occur after the bank meets the demands of regulators from all concerned countries and parties involved, with the full takeover expected to be complete by the end of the first half of 2013.

Emirates NBD, majority-owned by the government of Dubai, first made its offer in December 2012 to buy 95.2% of BNP Paribas’ shares; it has also made an offer to minority shareholders to buy the remaining 4.8%.

BNP Paribas, the largest bank listed in France, put its Egyptian operations up for sale in order to strengthen its capital foundation, and cease being responsible for non-core operations.

Shaykh Ahmed Bin Said al-Maktum, President of Emirate NBD’s Board of Directors, said in previous statements that this deal “represents a great opportunity for our bank to enter into the promising Egyptian market and achieve our goal of expanding operations in the region”.