ECA to introduce bill on oversight of M&A within the next few months: The Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) plans to introduce legislation within the coming two months that would require its stamp of approval on M&A transactions, ECA boss Mona El Garf said at a press conference on Monday.

Not all transactions will be subject to scrutiny by the regulator — reviews would be triggered at an as-yet undecided transaction size that El Garf said will likely be over EGP 100 mn. She did imply that smaller transactions may be required to receive approval at some point in the future. “Egypt is the only country in the Arab world and Africa where antitrust regulators do not have oversight authority on M&As,” said El Garf. As it stands, M&As larger than EGP 100 mn require the ECA be informed, but not its approval. The amendments, which were due in March, will be sent to the Trade and Industry Ministry in a month and a half for input, El Garf added, according to Al Shorouk.