SELF-STYLE ‘ADVOCACY’ GROUP attacks Cleopatra Hospital Company: We’re going to be a bit hyperbolic here and note that the enemies of the free market have again raised their ugly heads, this time attacking Abraaj-backed Cleopatra Hospital Company. A group calling itself the “Egyptian Center to Protect the Right to Medicine (ECPRM)” claims Cleopatra — which owns four major Cairo-area hospitals, including Cleopatra, Al Shorouk, Nile Badrawi and Cairo Specialised — raised its prices 30-45%, Al Mal reported, and wants the Health Ministry to stop renewing the licenses of any hospital owned by Abraaj. The group also plans to file a complaint against Abraaj and / or Cleopatra with the Egyptian Competition Authority, alleging monopolistic practices. The only problem with that: Cleopatra controls single-digit market share (by number of hospital beds). ECA chief Mona El Gary said the authority has previously looked into Abraaj’s acquisitions in Egypt’s healthcare industry and found no evidence of anti-competitive or monopolistic practices.