Egyptian to drop palm hills, kingdom cases

An Egyptian citizen who tried to overturn state land sales to Palm Hills and Saudi's Kingdom Holding has withdrawn the claims, saying there was little point continuing while the government is doing little to fight graft.

Engineer Hamdy Fakharany has filed a string of challenges to state land sales under ousted President Hosni Mubarak, accusing officials of flouting rules that stipulate government land must be sold by a public auction.

He confirmed to Reuters a newspaper report on Monday that he would drop the claims and waive further litigation over Palm Hills and Kingdom.

In April, a court ruled in Fakharany's favour that the land sale to Palm Hills was illegal, sending shares of Egypt's second-biggest listed developer into a tailspin and forcing it to a first-quarter net loss.

Source: TradeArabia.com