CAIRO: Steel and cement companies charged with following anti-competitive business practices and raising market prices await their destiny amid skepticism of the penalties and actions to be taken against them. The Antitrust and Competition Protection Commission (ACPC) received on July 16 a request from Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid to study and …

CAIRO: The tax campaign that has been airing intensively on television during the holy month of Ramadan is expected to contribute to another successful year for tax returns. “Your interest first, is the slogan of a campaign that is clearly aimed at instilling a relationship of trust between the taxpayer and the tax authority as …

WASHINGTON: World Bank President Robert Zoellick said Arab countries have been underserved by the development lender and that he wants to develop an initiative to get more involved in the Arab world, according to an interview published in the Wall Street Journal Tuesday. Zoellick also said that the bank will continue to lend to middle-income …

CAIRO: After ranking as the world’s top reformer in the Doing Business Report 2008, Egypt still needs to simplify license registration, contract enforcement, tax procedures, as well as arbitration of economic and trade disputes, said the World Bank. “Egypt had a very broad sense of reforms, and hence scored top on the list of reformers, …

CAIRO: Members of Gezirah, Shams, Heliopolis, and Sporting Alexandria clubs are now offered three credit options provided by the Arab African International Bank (AAIB) through the end of the month. AAIB offers club members the opportunity to own a credit card with a limit of LE 5000 without proof of income. The bank also discounted …

CAIRO: Egypt will start producing petroleum pumps to meet the needs of the oil, gas and petrochemicals production activity process in this industry. The Ministry of Petroleum signed a deal to establish the first joint Egyptian-German production plant in Suez to produce pumps in the Middle East. With the participation of the Egyptian petroleum sector …

CAIRO: Global Knowledge, a provider of training and enterprise learning services for information technology (IT) and management professionals, recently announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Synergy Professional Services (SPS). SPS, a privately owned business headquartered in Dubai, provides professional and technical IT skills training, consulting, and services in the Middle East and …

CAIRO: With the increasing number of coffeehouses dotting the capital, deciding where to drink your coffee is now a tough choice. In this competitive market, L’Aroma stands out as one of the oldest in the city. A relatively small coffeehouse business in Cairo, L’Aroma has managed to retain its customers with the quality of the …

CAIRO: The Antitrust and Competition Protection Commission (ACPC) is currently researching the steel market to determine if companies in the sector follow anti-competitive business practices. The move comes on the heels of a decision to report nine cement companies to the public prosecutor on charges of violating Law No. 3 of the Customer Protection and …

CAIRO: The Antitrust and Competition Protection Commission s (ACPC) reported nine cement companies to the public prosecutor on charges of conspiring to raise cement prices and for following anti-competitive practices, causing a stir in the industry and the media. The ACPC received on July 16 a request from Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed …

CAIRO: Members of Gezirah, Shams, Heliopolis, and Sporting Alexandria clubs are now offered three credit options provided by the Arab African International Bank (AAIB) through the end of the month. AAIB offers club members the opportunity to own a credit card with a limit of LE 5000 without proof of income. The bank also discounted …

CAIRO: British American Tobacco (BAT) has announced a new training and development scheme for its North African headquarters in Cairo. Under new Human Resources Manager Zacharia Thomas, BAT will utilize the resources it has freed up by shifting from a “people-soft information system to a regionally and globally integrated HR system. According to Thomas, this …

CAIRO: Emaar Egypt is close to concluding a deal on two alternative land parcels in Ain Sokhna sea resort after withdrawing from acquisition of land offered by Egypt’s Holding Company for Tourism (HCT), a senior company official said on Thursday. He confirmed that the new deal was behind Emaar’s withdrawal from buying Al-Sokhna Hotel and …

CAIRO: As the daily fast of Ramadan ends, TV bursts into life in the corner of living rooms, shops, restaurants, and cafes, heaving with a mix of comedy, drama, and history. Besides fasting, praying, and feasting, Ramadan is also known to be the prime season for television serials, programs and commercials. The sights and sounds …

CAIRO: Mohamed Farid Khamis, the chairman of the board of Oriental Weavers Group, said Tuesday’s fire will not cause a delay in production and all clients’ orders will be delivered on time. The fire took place at the Ramses Factory for Carpets – located in the Tenth of Ramadan City – in one of 25 …

CAIRO: The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology is shooting for an offshore services revenue target of $1.1 billion by 2010, said Hazem Abdel Azim, senior advisor to the Minister for the technology development sector. In 2005, Egypt ranked 12th among countries seeking to become an offshore location, according to A.T Kearney s Offshore Location …

CAIRO: Egyptian Minister of Tourism Zoheir Garranah recently announced the latest endeavor in the efforts to raise the standards in the tourism sector and to create opportunities for Egypt s hospitality industry professionals, according to a statement released to the press. Minister Garranah witnessed the signing of a Letter of Agreement by Chairman of the …

CAIRO: Iftar was the meal and Nile Hilton the venue, for both British and Egyptian businessmen and women to say goodbye to one of their loudest cheerleaders, H.E. Sir Derek Plumbly. The British ambassador, who is married to an Egyptian, said goodbye to the British Egyptian Business Association (BEBA) on Monday night, warning that there …

CAIRO: Orascom Telecom (OT) has announced that it will feverishly compete for Egypt’s second fixed line phone license, which will be put up for tender early next year to start operating early 2009. According to press reports, Etisalat Egypt is also interested in bidding for the license. “Orascom Telecom plans to participate in the tender …

CAIRO: Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Sameh Fahmi signed two agreements this week ¬- on behalf of the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority (Emra) – with Russian SMW Company for the exploration and utilization of gold and associated minerals in the Eastern Desert Region. The agreement’s minimum expenditure will reach $12 million in research areas …

CAIRO: While Egypt’s performance in 2006/07 was impressive – with high growth levels – there continues to be an underlying need to tackle constraints on business development, says the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to the IMF, the Egyptian economy continues to grow rapidly and unemployment rates are declining. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in …

CAIRO: A court in Abbasiya has extended the jail terms of the two Egyptian Christians accused of “defaming Islam, by another 30 days. Peter Ezzat and Dr Adel Fawzy Faltas Hanna, both members of the Canada-based Middle East Christian Association (Meca), have been imprisoned since August 8 after police raided their homes confiscating CDs, computers …

CAIRO: The fifth race of The World Professional Powerboating Association’s (WPPA) Class 1 World Championship will be held in the North Coast resort of Porto Marina Oct. 25-27. The news was announced at a press conference Saturday by a panel that included the Governor of Matrouh Mohamed El-Shahat, the WPPA Chairman Saeed Hareb, and the …

CAIRO: As the government moves forward with the privatization of Banque Du Caire – which is expected to fetch over $1.6 billion – several heavyweight businessmen have shown interest in bidding for Egypt’s third largest state-owned bank. Egypt’s most prominent businessman Nagiub Sawiris, chairman of Orascom Telecom, recently appeared on state-owned television expressing interest in …

CAIRO: The Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) and several Chinese companies signed an agreement to start producing mobile phones in Egypt for domestic use and for export. The $50 million agreement will establish a joint research and development center dedicated to the enhancement of mobile phone functions. The contract was signed by Shenzhen s …

CAIRO: Egyptian tycoon Naguib Sawiris, along with father Onsi and brother Nassef, were ranked among Forbes Middle East s 20 Richest People. Naguib comes third on the list with a fortune worth $10 billion ¬- nearly quadrupling in 2007 – with his empire Orascom Telecom s expansion in Greece and Italy, according to Forbes.com. In …

CAIRO: With the influx of high-income Iraqi refugees to the Sixth of October City, the price of residential and commercial property has skyrocketed over the past two years. Egyptians residents of the flourishing satellite city, 20 km southwest of Cairo, say the real estate market there was first a magnate for middle-class and low-income segments …

CAIRO: It doesn’t take an economist to tell you that money and financial information are complements. That is, when people get more of one, they almost instantly want more of the other. To satisfy budding demand for Middle Eastern business news, CNN will launch “Marketplace Middle East, a weekly, 15-minute segment devoted to financial and …

CAIRO: During controversial discussions on energy pricing, Mohamed Abul-Enein, head of the Parliament s Energy and Industry committee, said the price increase should be applied with caution in the fertilizers industry. “Those operating in the fertilizers industry are considered members of the minimum wage bracket and they will suffer with the new prices, unlike energy-intensive …

CAIRO: Corruption is perceived as rampant in Egypt, as the country’s ranking declined from 70 to 105 out of 180 countries listed on the Corruption Perceptions Index 2007 (CPI) recently released by Transparency International, an anti-corruption watchdog. Egypt scored 2.9 on the index – way below last year’s 3.3 score. The Index examines perceptions of …