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For most of 2009, the Central Bank of Egypt’s rate policy was predictable, cutting interest rates to reign in high inflation. This year has been a different story. The CBE has kept rates steady since September, with lending and deposit rates for June remaining unchanged at 9.75 percent and 8.25 percent, respectively. Although annual headline …
Beltone Private Equity and Crédit Agricole Egypt (CAE) launched Tuesday a $5 million fund to invest in small and medium enterprises in Egypt. Cairo-based investment bank Beltone and CAE partnered with Siparex Group, a French private equity specialist, to set up the Beltone Midcap Fund that will invest directly into promising Egyptian SMEs. The first …
CAIRO: The World Bank and the Clean Technology Fund announced that Egypt will receive $220 million loan for a transmission line project to bring energy produced by wind farms in the Gulf of Suez to supply Egypt’s growing energy needs. Out of $220 million figure, $150 million will be provided by the Clean Technology Fund, …
CAIRO: Egyptian real estate developer Six of October Development and Investment Company (SODIC) said it bought a 50 percent stake in a Syrian developer forming a new company called Palmyra-SODIC. In cooperation with Syria’s MAS Economic Group, SODIC bought 50 percent of Palmyra for Real Estate Development Company, a subsidiary of MAS, for $40.5 million, …
CAIRO: Distrust and lack of public awareness regarding the role of financial institutions and developers in providing affordable housing impedes the market from reaching its full potential, said speakers at a Cairo conference. A regulatory framework and more diverse financing products are also needed to spur the sector. At the Euromoney Egypt Housing and Real …
CAIRO: The one-day Euromoney conference entitled, “Egyptian Housing and Real Estate Finance” takes place in Cairo Tuesday. The conference seeks to provide information and exchange views for those working in and interested in the evolution, opportunities and future outlook of the Egyptian real estate market. Important figures from several fields, ranging from banking …
CAIRO: Several businesses in Egypt have been leading the way in giving the poor a chance to contribute to and become part of the global economy — a win-win scenario for both the business sector and the economically downtrodden. In a country where poverty is preponderant — an estimated 18 million people — the task …
CAIRO: Egypt scored the highest rate of increase worldwide in the level of consumer confidence for the first quarter of 2010. Consumer confidence rose 24 points to reach 95, compared to a global average of 92 points, according to the Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index, which was released June 7. Hany Mwafy, managing director North …
CAIRO: Two Egyptian companies came in second and third place at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Business Plan Competition on June 4, winning a combined $20,000. The competition is held in partnership with the Abdul Latif Jameel (AJL) Company. Lebanon’s Little Engineer came in first place and was awarded $50,000 as start-up capital at …
CAIRO: The Egyptian property market is on course to outperform all other MENA countries in 2010, according to a recent report. Citing a Credit Suisse report, Dubai-based analyst Ahmed Badr explained that growth in the Egyptian real estate market will be spurred by “strong domestic housing demand recovery that should filter through developers’ sales figures …
CAIRO: At a time when many world markets were in recession, Egypt’s economy consistently recorded positive growth figures, above both analysts’ forecasts and government expectations. Despite the better-than-expected numbers, projections for growth were higher before the onset of the crisis — around 7-8 percent for this period, and continuing over the next several years, Hani …
CAIRO: Air Arabia, a regional low cost carrier, launched its Egypt operations Tuesday, with its first flight taking off from Alexandria, its third hub, to Khartoum. The UAE-based carrier will also launch flights to Kuwait, Amman and Beirut, as well as to other destinations further afar within Europe, Africa and elsewhere in the Middle East. …
CAIRO: Steel prices will decline in June for local producers including Egypt’s largest, Ezz Steel, according to analysts. Local producers will drop prices by LE 300, while Ezz Steel will set them a bit above at LE 250, Al-Masry Al-Yom reported. For local producers this will bring their price to LE 3,600 per ton while …
* Ahmed Shabana, founder of online pharmacy AgzaKhana.com # @ CAIRO: “I love the creativity and sense of ownership that being an entrepreneur provides,” said Ahmed Shabana, founder of online pharmacy AgzaKhana.com. Sitting behind his desk on the second floor of his family-owned pharmacy in Mohandiseen, Shabana is constantly thinking of innovative ways to expand …
CAIRO: The number of mobile phone subscribers rose by 1.2 million in March, bringing the total to 57.7 million out of a population of nearly 80 million, according to Egypt’s Information Portal. Communications Minister Tarek Kamel said that the number of mobile phone licenses could increase to four, which means Telecom Egypt could enter into …
In April, Visa Inc. acquired Cybersource, a provider of electronic payment, risk management and payment security solutions to online merchants, in a deal worth $2 billion, or $26 a share. Through this purchase Visa is lining itself up to venture further into the e-commerce and mobile — or m-commerce — worlds as well as secure …
CAIRO: Egypt is planning to set up 21 special investment zones over the next two years in the Delta and Upper Egypt governorates, according to local news reports. Ten zones will also be established next year, reported Al-Shorouk newspaper, quoting Investment Minister Mahmoud Mohieldin. According to reports, the private sector will manage operations and licensing …
CAIRO: Private equity firm Citadel Capital inaugurated a power plant in Sudan through its subsidiaries, Taqa Arabia, an energy firm, and Asec Cement. The opening of the $67 million plant on the west bank of the River Nile will provide energy for Asec’s major cement Takamol plant in Sudan, which produces 1.6 million tons per …
CAIRO: Wind energy is growing leaps and bounds globally, at rate of 31.7 percent since 2001, and wind capacity is doubling every three years. While Africa is having difficulty keeping apace, Egypt seems to be forging full steam ahead. The actual growth rate for the continent hovered around 28 percent last year, below the 31.6 …
CAIRO: The People’s Assembly budget and planning committee approved a 5 percent sales tax on cement price as part of a “a supplementary budget report”, the state-run daily Al-Ahram reported. The government has been deliberating raising the tax on steel and cement; 5-8 percent on steel and 5 percent for cement, which is currently taxed …
CAIRO: Top officials of regional investment bank Delta Rasmala Investments credited “major reorganization” and a conservative approach during the crisis for the three prestigious awards it won recently. Rasmala’s asset management arm won the GTM/EGX Best Management Firm award in 2010, which is considered one of the most prestigious in the MENA region. It also …
CAIRO: Egypt and Spain agreed to launch a study to create a new maritime shipping line between Alexandria and Taragona, with the objective of boosting trade between both countries. Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid and Spanish Minister of State for Trade Silvia Iranzo met on May 11 to discuss how both …
CAIRO: After two years of preparation, the People’s Assembly (PA) ratified the public-private partnerships (PPP) law on Monday. The law seeks to enhance the role of the private sector in the building, operation and maintenance of infrastructure projects in Egypt. Under the law, the government will be able to tender infrastructure projects to the private …
CAIRO: Uncertainty over the fate of Greece and other troubled EU economies has caused fluctuations in global markets this week despite the announcement of a nearly $1 trillion rescue package by European officials and the IMF. Egypt’s main index dipped 2.2 percent on Tuesday alone, tracking world markets declining on European woes, Reuters reported. Across …
CAIRO: The private sector and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), through the World Bank, believe that there is a wealth of opportunity to drive down litigation and arbitration costs in Egypt, for major industry players as well as SMEs. A new project launched at a press conference Tuesday aims at doing exactly that, reducing the …
CAIRO: The price of gold increased by $2.60, or 0.2 percent, to $1,183.30 an ounce on Monday, reaching as high as $1,188.40 at one point in the day on the New York Mercantile Exchange. There has invariably been an impact on the price of gold in Egypt, which increased by nearly LE 4, due to …
CAIRO: The Algerian government has been holding up talks between South African-based MTN Group and Orascom Telecom Holding SEA (OT), the Middle East’s biggest mobile phone company in terms of subscribers, for Djezzy, its unit in Algeria, in a deal worth $9 billion. The deal would make MTN the world’s third largest mobile phone operator. …
CAIRO: The price of steel rebars took a LE 300 dive this Saturday, May 1, which experts attribute to a decrease in international prices. The Chamber of Metallurgical Industries stated that steel rebars prices were set to come down during the month of May, which was in part the result of the lowering of international …
CAIRO: Consumer confidence in Egypt fell by 0.7 index points in the first quarter of 2010, according to Bayt.com and YouGov Siraj’s recently released Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) survey. Consumer confidence had previously been on the rise for the second half of 2009. In its latest findings, the CCI, which addresses various elements of the …
CAIRO: Western businesses, once the unquestioned leaders in global capitalism, are finding their position increasingly challenged by their rivals in emerging markets, according to a recent report. Adrian Wooldridge, managing editor of The Economist, examines in a special report in the April 17 issue the role of emerging markets in spurring new business models and …