Cairo, 13 September 2010: John Matouk, Legal Counsel of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation ("MMC") and the Managing Partner of DLA Matouk Bassiouny, stated that MMC appoints its new distributor for Egypt. The new distributor will be a joint venture between Al Mulla Group Holding Company K.S.C.C. ("AMGH") (*1) and Mohamed Abdulmohsin Al Kharafi & Sons W.L.L. ("MAK") (*2). MMC and AMGH have signed a Letter of Intent and are now negotiating the execution definitive terms.

MMC confirms that its customers are its main priority and for that reason, the new distributor will launch a service campaign to ensure the provision of excellent services, worthy of MMC's name and its existing customers and to provide after-sales services to existing and new MMC customers and additionally enlarging the sales of MMC products in the Egyptian market.

Further, MMC re-confirmed the expiry of the non-exclusive distribution relationship with Masria Motors Company - El Rawas ("Masria") -- contrary to Masria's allegations that the relationship is an exclusive and ongoing agency for MMC in the Egyptian market.

John Matouk stated that "the agreement concluded between MMC and Masria which expired on 20 July 2010 did not create an exclusive agency with Masria, but provided instead for a non-exclusive distributorship which expired according to its terms. We are now undertaking procedures to correct the administrative inaccuracy caused by the registration of Masria in the Egyptian Commercial Agents Register."

John Matouk added that "the registration of Masria in the Commercial Agents Register is not correct and in any case has expired on 20 July 2010 according to a certificate issued by the Export and Import Control Authority on 30 October 2007.  In addition, Masria's registration in the Commercial Agents Register also contradicts the commercial reality of the previous relationship with MMC -- namely the fact that Masria consistently purchased vehicles and spare-parts from MMC and re-sold them in the Egyptian market in its own name and for its own account.  This is a basic distributorship structure and clearly does not fall under the definition of an agency under Egyptian law."

Osman Mowafy, Head of the Litigation Department at DLA law firm, the Legal Counsel of Mitsubishi, noted that this issue is also currently being reviewed by the administrative courts in order to understand the basis of Masria's registration at the Export and Import Control Authority when in fact Masria was non-exclusive distributor. 

Osman Mowafy added that "the registering of Masria in the Commercial Agents Register violates the provisions of Law No. 120 of 1982 regulating  commercial agency and commercial mediation, which requires the existence of an agency or commercial mediation contract as a condition in order to be registered in the Commercial Agents Register, and such contract must stipulate for the agent or the commercial mediator' task, the responsibilities of each party, the agreed commission rates, conditions of receiving it and, in particular, the currency by which it shall be paid ".

He further added that no decisions were issued to ban the importation of Mitsubishi's vehicles or spare parts into Egypt and that the Minister of Industry and Trade has not issued a decree with regard to MMC and Masria.  All newspaper reports to the contrary are inaccurate. 

Further, he added that the information recently published in the newspapers indicating that Cairo Court for Urgent Matters refused MMC's defenses is incorrect since the court decided its lack of jurisdiction to decide on the lawsuit requesting a ban on the importation of Mitsubishi's vehicles or spare parts into Egypt initiated by Masria against MMC and it did not refuse any defenses of MMC.

(*1) Established 1938, AMGH is a leading group of companies in Kuwait with diverse business activities in Automotive, Engineering, Contracting, Financing, Exchange, Manufacturing, Office Automation and Trading. AMGH's automotive experience goes back to 1948 and has been associated with MMC since 1972. AMGH is one of the best distributors of MMC product with long track of leadership and success in sales and after sales.

(*2) Established more than 100 years ago, MAK is one of the large conglomerates of companies with diverse activities in Construction, Manufacturing, Commerce, Real estate, Development, Telecommunication, IT,  Food, Tourism, Airline and Investments. MAK has been operating in Egypt since more than 50 years through more than 100 companies operating in diverse business activities and with more than 70,000 employers.

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