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Latest in Lifestyle


Egypt to boost investments with Morocco

Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid met with visiting Moroccan Foreign Trade Minister Abdellatif Maazouz on ways to boost trade and economic relations and increase joint investments. The ministers highlighted the importance of establishing a direct maritime line linking Egyptian and Moroccan ports. Both also witnessed the inking of an agreement to establish …

Daily News Egypt

Ezz Steel pulls Egypt index higher

Shares in Egypt’s largest steel producer Ezz Steel posted their biggest single day gain in nearly five months, boosted by market speculation the firm may soon bid for a new production license in Egypt. Ezz Steel rose 3.5 percent, its fourth session of gains in a row, to LE 20.25 per share, its highest price …

Reuters

TE finds way around mobile license with MVNO agreement

CAIRO: Telecom Egypt (TE) is preparing to enter into an agreement with Vodafone Egypt to buy minutes at reduced prices and resell them in the market under the Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) licenses that the Telecom Ministry plans to issue. According to independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm, Egypt’s Telecom Minister met with the CEO of …

Amr Ramadan

Egypt court sets date for TMG Madinaty challenge

An Egyptian court will hear a lawsuit on Nov. 9 challenging a government plan to end a row over Talaat Moustafa’s (TMG) Madinaty project, a court said on Monday — a fresh twist to a dispute that has rattled property investors. TMG’s flagship Madinaty development has been mired in a legal row since a court …

Reuters

Egypt to offer licenses for 3 mln tons steel: papers

Egypt’s government will launch a tender on Wednesday for licenses to produce 3 million tons of steel, requiring investments worth 3.2 billion Egyptian pounds, newspapers reported on Saturday. The month-long tender by the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) comes as the government seeks to boost steel production to meet growing demand from the construction industry and …

Reuters

Vimpelcom in talks with Algeria over Djezzy

MOSCOW: Vimpelcom is in talks with Algerian officials over the fate of the north African nation’s top mobile phone operator Djezzy that Algiers wants to nationalize and the Russian firm wants to control. Djezzy is the most lucrative asset of Egyptian tycoon Naguib Sawiris’ Orascom Telecom, which Vimpelcom intends to buy control of as part …

Daily News Egypt

SODIC to start two residential projects in Syria

Egyptian developer Six of October Development and Investment Co. (SODIC) may start two housing projects in Syria by the end of this year, a senior executive told Bloomberg. “There is huge potential in Syria,” Ashraf Farid, the company’s operations director, said in an interview. “We are looking to launch a couple of projects towards the …

Daily News Egypt

Seminar discusses Egypt’s changing role in the region amid globalization

CAIRO: The changing political and economic dynamics in the world have affected Egypt’s leadership position and influence on international affairs, Middle East analyst and researcher Sophie Pommier said. On Tuesday, Oct. 5, the Centre d’Études et de Documentation Économiques, Juridiques et Sociales (Center for Social, Judical, and Economic Documentation and Study, CEDEJ) hosted a talk …

Daily News Egypt

Kharafi receives enough Zain shares for Etisalat deal

KUWAIT: The Kharafi Group, a major Zain shareholder, has received enough shares to tender to Etisalat’s offer for a 46-percent stake in the Kuwaiti telecoms firm, an executive said on Thursday. Kharafi unit National Investments Co. (NIC) had advertised for shareholders to join a consortium and tender their shares. "We have approvals from our clients …

Reuters

Dubai, Abu Dhabi housing vacancy expected to peak in 2012, says report

DUBAI: Housing markets in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are likely to see the average vacancy rise, before it peaks in 2012, while apartment sale prices and rentals continue to erode, property consultancy Landmark Advisory said on Wednesday. The residential average vacancy will gradually increase to peak at 12 percent in 2012 from 10 percent in …

Daily News Egypt

Pachin declares 4.5 EGP dividend for 2009/10

Egyptian paintmaker Pachin said on Sunday it declared a cash dividend of LE 4.5 ($0.79) for the 2009/10 period. Full-year net profit at Egypt’s largest listed paint maker jumped 70 percent to LE 154.7 million, and net sales rose to LE 703.8 million. Pachin’s chairman said in November Egypt’s paint market was growing at 2 …

Reuters

Syrian authorities arrest organ trafficking ring led by Egyptian woman

  CAIRO: Syrian authorities arrested an 11-member organ trafficking ring in northern Aleppo, allegedly led by a 26-year-old Egyptian woman named Fadia, Syria-based daily independent Al-Watan reported Monday. The group is allegedly responsible for trafficking the kidneys of about 150 Syrians over the past year — some of whom are in critical condition, the report …

Daily News Egypt Authors

Egypt could become the top outsourcing destination worldwide, says expert

CAIRO: Worldwide demand for outsourcing is tilting towards Egypt as Europe now spends more on outsourcing than North America. According to Denise D’Elia, a Vodafone representative, outsourcing as an industry was valued at $13 billion last year. Egypt has the third-largest talent pool in the EMEA region. This is largely due to the country’s rich …

Christopher Le Coq

Karama Party leader calls for revival of Nasser’s policies

CAIRO: Founder of Al-Karama Party Hamdeen Sabahi called for the revival of socialist economic policies of the Nasserite era and the re-nationalization of privatized public properties. Delivering a passionate speech to workers assembled at the Egyptian Center of Economic and Social Rights (ECESR) Monday, Sabahi said that change won’t come except through the physical presence …

Tamim Elyan

Pakistan probes reports of Qaeda insurgent’s death

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is investigating reports that a CIA missile strike killed a senior Al-Qaeda commander as he traveled in a tribal region near the Afghan border, security officials said Wednesday. If confirmed, Sheikh Fateh Al-Masri’s death would be the covert US missile program’s latest blow to Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network. Al-Masri is believed to …

Daily News Egypt

Investigation launched into assault of public prosecutor lawyers by SSI officer

CAIRO: Investigations are being carried out into allegations by three members of Rashid’s public prosecution office that a state security investigations (SSI) officer verbally assaulted and threatened to open fire on them as they attempted to inspect a SSI facility. News of the incident was first reported by Mohamed Abdelaziz, a lawyer with the Nadeem …

Sarah Carr

How to bet on SMEs and win

It can be said that the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sector has traditionally been treated as something of an afterthought by many banks in Egypt. This point was illustrated in a recent survey, which showed that lending to the SME sector amounted to only 5 percent of total lending in Egypt. But as competition …

Daily News Egypt

CIB launches health-focused foundation

Hisham Ezz El Arab, chairman of Commercial International Bank (CIB), recently launched the CIB Foundation, a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative dedicated to enhancing health and nutrition services for underprivileged children in Egypt. Nesma Farahat, manager of the CIB Foundation, told Daily News Egypt that the board of trustees chose children’s health and nutrition as …

Amr Ramadan

Israel deports Jewish boat activists

ASHDOD: Three Jewish activists who tried to bust Israel’s blockade on Gaza were on their way out of Israel on Tuesday night and a fourth was awaiting deportation, their lawyer said. Israeli warships on Tuesday intercepted the boat named "Irene" 20 nautical miles off the coast of the Gaza Strip, and took it the port …

AFP

Productivity of fruits, vegetables fall 70 pct

A report prepared by the Agricultural Research Center announced an annual fall in productivity of fruits and vegetables by 70 percent, reported Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper, on the back of climate change and increased temperatures. An example, the report provided, showed that the tomato crop fell from 40 tons per acre in 2009 to 15 tons …

Daily News Egypt Authors

Egypt says no change to TMG Madinaty terms: paper

Egypt will not change terms for a new contract for Talaat Moustafa’s flagship Madinaty project and will take 7 percent of the project’s completed housing units, as in the original deal, a newspaper reported. "There will be no change in the contract terms, the state will get a 7 percent compensation for (areas) built-up on," …

Reuters

Egypt Jul-Sept GDP growth at least 6 pct: PM

Egypt’s prime minister said on Thursday that gross domestic product in the July to September quarter was expected to grow by an annualized 6 percent, up from 5.9 percent in the previous quarter. Speaking to reporters, Ahmed Nazif said growth in the first quarter of the financial year that began on July 1 would reach …

Reuters

Dubai’s Nakheel sees restructuring done by year end

DUBAI: Dubai state-owned property developer Nakheel expects to complete its debt restructuring by the end of the year. "We have had a successful bank meeting and we are having very good discussions with the Nakheel co-com (core committee)," chief executive Chris O’Donnell told reporters on Thursday. Conglomerate Dubai World has near-unanimous approval for its $24.9 …

Reuters

Oman plans to stick to 2010 spending plan, says fin min official

MUSCAT: Oman plans to stick to its spending plan this year and the budget deficit is likely to be smaller as oil prices seem to stay higher than estimated, the Gulf country’s finance ministry official said on Sunday. The small non-OPEC crude producer largely overshot its original expenditure plans in the past two years to …

Reuters

OCI approves bond, eyes acquisitions

Egyptian builder and fertilizer maker Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) said on Monday it approved the issue of LE 1.65 billion ($289 million) of bonds for purposes including possible acquisitions. Ninety percent of the issue, which carries an 11.75 percent semi-annual coupon, will be offered via a private placement and the rest to the public. "I …

Reuters

Saudi firms buy 625,000 tons barley: trade

A group of leading Saudi importers has purchased 360,000 tons of optional origin barley for Oct. shipment and another 265,000 tons of Ukrainian origin for Sept. shipment, trade sources said on Friday. They said 360,000 tons of optional origin barley were purchased in the last few days by several private Saudi buyers from international suppliers …

Reuters

GB Auto to pay LE 3.09 dividend

GB Auto, Egypt’s biggest listed automobile assembler, will pay a LE 3.09 ($0.54) dividend on Oct. 3, it announced in a newspaper advertisement on Wednesday. The dividend will be paid to investors owning shares as of Sept. 30. The company’s second-quarter net profit surged 92 percent from a year earlier, bolstered mainly by an extended …

Reuters

Iran Automaker to Setup Plant in Sudan

The Saipa Automotive Manufacturing Group has signed a deal to set up a factory in Sudan to produce 35,000 cars over the next five years, the Iranian news agency Mehr is reporting. The new plant in Sudan will produce a variety of car models. “Saipa’s successful presence in the Sudanese market in the past persuaded …

Daily News Egypt

Mosque retreat will feed extremism, warns NY imam

WASHINGTON: The Muslim cleric behind plans to build an Islamic Cultural Center and mosque near Ground Zero in New York warned on Sunday that retreating on the project would only strengthen the hand of the Muslim extremists. But Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf did not rule out that developers would move the Islamic center, telling ABC: …

AFP