CAIRO: Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZ) exports of textiles and ready-made garments to the US jumped to $306 million from the period between January and May 2007, up from $223 million during the same period last year. According to state figures, the recent surge was due to a rise in ready-made garments to $273 million up …

CAIRO: The Ministry of Petroleum ended the week on a high note, approving new Indian investments in different petroleum domains and acquiring a Jordanian bid to produce potash. Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmi met with a delegation from Reliance, an Indian group of companies, to discus the establishment of new projects in the fields of …

CAIRO: The Supreme Energy Council approved Tuesday plans to reduce energy subsidies and allocate the surplus to improving the transportation sector. Headed by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, the council approved plans to gradually raise the price of natural gas and electricity over the next three years, a strategy announced by Minister of Trade and Industry …

NEW YORK: Agriculture futures rallied Tuesday after reports of strong export demand for wheat and corn spotlighted the extreme tightness of global grain supplies. Elsewhere, energy prices declined as the threat of hurricane damage to oil operations subsided, while industrial and precious metals also trended lower. Egypt bought 240,000 tons of soft, red winter wheat …

CAIRO: The United States embassy in Cairo said yesterday that it was not involved in any negotiations with Egypt and Israel to reduce the Israeli component in the Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZ) agreement. Al-Ahram newspaper had reported that the US Ambassador to Cairo said negotiations were currently underway to reduce the Israeli input from 11.7 …

CAIRO: The Ministry of Finance is currently looking into amending tax laws, whereby real estate and sales tax get collected as value-added tax starting sometime this year. “Currently, the real estate tax law is not active, giving room for tax evasion and allowing some people to escape from paying taxes, explained Ahmed Shawqi, managing director …

CAIRO: Key industry players and analysts had mixed reactions to the Ministry of Trade’s plans to reduce energy subsidies by gradually increasing the price of natural gas and electricity over the next three years. Since Minister of Trade Rachid Mohamed Rachid’s August 14 announcement, speculations have been rife that El-Ezz Holding – owned by steel …

CAIRO: In the sixth and final meeting of the People’s Assembly’s health committee on Sunday, Health Minister Hatem El Gabaly announced that the new medical insurance law will be implemented in Sohag, Damietta and Suez governorates in 2010. Sources at the ministry who preferred to remain anonymous told Daily News Egypt that these three governorates …

ABU DHABI: The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) is set to empower its management and drive workforce efficiency backed by Oracle’s industry-leading Human Resources Management System (HRMS), the Fund announced today in a press release. As well as being the first implementation of its kind in the region, the Oracle HRMS solution was implemented …

CAIRO: Egypt has taken steps to transform the Arab Gas Pipeline Project to an Arab Gas Network, which will be linked to Europe through Turkey, announced the Ministry of Petroleum. Egyptian gas is scheduled to reach Syria before the end of the year and Lebanon by early next year. It was agreed that Syria would …

CAIRO: A public opinion poll conducted by the Information Decision Support Center – affiliated with the Cabinet – recorded that 75.2 percent of Egyptians say corruption exists in the country with a prevalence of 66 percent. “The public listed different forms of corruption, reads the survey. “74.9 percent of samples ranked bribes, freebies, and tips …

CAIRO: Speculations of the increase in the prices of meat, fish and chicken are circulating, with ministry officials denying the rumors. The ministry had released a price list to state-run newspaper Al Ahram over the weekend. Engineer Ahmed El Saedy, manager of Al Awaal farm, said the prices of meat, fish and chicken have already …

CAIRO: A 10-year-old land dispute which has been settled in court has resurfaced in the press recently as partners of the now-defunct Artoc Development Company continue to lay claims on a 40,000 square meter area of land in the Jabal Hareem area in Hurghada. Certain reports in local newspapers have surfaced recently contesting the ownership …

PARIS/CAIRO: In an international tribunal that has been ongoing since May 2004, two Belgian dredging companies are accusing the Suez Canal Authority and the Egyptian government of deliberately withholding and manipulating information. The two companies, Jan de Nul N.V. and Dredging International N.V., have submitted their plea against the government of Egypt to the International …

CAIRO: Dr. Khaled Awad is a risk-taker. A doctor by training, he decided at age 26 to give up a secure position in one of the country’s state-run hospitals to do something considered crazy by most of his countrymen: Start his own business. Awad, whose company transmits stock market data directly to mobile phones, is …

ISMAILIYA: Suez Canal boosted July revenues by 22.5 percent on an annual basis to $406.3 million, Canal Authority spokesman Mahmud Abdel Wahab said on Thursday. The rise comes after the canal last month announced a 17 percent annual increase in revenues for the 2006-2007 fiscal year to $4.168 billion. The Suez Canal, which opened in …

CAIRO: Raya Holding posted a remarkable increase in second quarter net profit as major shareholders rejected Orascom Telecom’s offer to acquire 100 percent of the company’s shares traded on the bourse. Raya’s independent financial adviser evaluated its shares at between LE 19.72 and 22.14, way above OT’s initial offer to acquire Raya’s shares at LE …

CAIRO: In an effort to strengthen ties with the Far East, the Minister of Petroleum met with a Japanese delegation to discuss ways the two countries can cooperate in the oil, gas and petrochemicals sectors, as well as implementing petroleum projects. After a meeting with Yorihiko Kojima, president of the Japanese Mitsubishi Corporation, Minister of …

CAIRO: Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), and Luis Monreal, general manager for the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, signed Tuesday a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a restoration lab at the Salah Eddin Citadel and an “Urban Plaza project in Al Azhar Park. The Urban Plaza will be in …

AMMAN: Five companies began bidding in Amman Thursday for a share of Iraq s lucrative mobile telephone market, one of the few sectors of the war-ravaged economy still producing revenues, officials said. The five include the three existing license holders – Orascom, MTC and Asiacell – Iraqi Finance Minister Bayan Jabr Solagh told reporters before …

CAIRO: In a leap towards bringing unconventional learning tools into classrooms, Intel Corporation signed yesterday a Memorandum of Understanding with Edu Systems International (ESI) to enhance utilization of localized e-content and multimedia technology in education. Committed to corporate social responsibility, Intel Egypt – in cooperation with ESI – will customize and localize its “skoool Interactive …

CAIRO: The higher committee of exceptional pensions announced it will grant exceptional pensions to 1,259 needy cases including citizens with critical illnesses and the families of those who suffered fatal accidents. According to a statement by the Ministry of Finance, Rashad Salem – first deputy at the Ministry of Finance and head of the Government …

CAIRO: The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) ruled in favor of the Ministry of Irrigation in its lawsuit against three contractors working on the Naga Dam in Qena on Aug. 8. Uncitral awarded the Egyptian government the entire disputed sum of money, ordering to pay the Ministry of Agriculture LE 40 million. …

CAIRO: The government will reduce energy subsidies by gradually increasing the price of natural gas over the next three years, announced Minister of Trade Rachid Mohamed Rachid in a press conference Tuesday. “Under the new system, the price of natural gas for industry will increase gradually over the next three years, from $1.25 to $2.65 …

CAIRO: The Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchanges (Case) and the Capital Market Authority are currently looking into imposing harsher penalties on listed companies that violate rules of trading and disclosure of information to the Case. The Case recently doubled fines for infractions of trading to LE 10,000. They have also resorted to terminating transactions that …

CAIRO: Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has soared to $9.45 billion and is expected to amount to $10 billion by the end of this year, Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieddin said yesterday. “During the past three years, the country managed to pull in FDI worth $20 billion, stated the minister. “The total size of private investments …

CAIRO: While many may believe that investing in gold is a smart move, gold traders in Egypt beg to differ. “Who said that purchasing gold is an investment? That is not true. The price of gold fluctuates; no one can guarantee that gold can be sold for the amount you purchased it for. There is …

CAIRO: India’s Ambassador to Egypt A. Gopinathan announced during the celebration of India’s 60th Independence Day on August 12 that several Indian investors plan to expand their operations in Egypt. “Indian-Egyptian Fertilizers Company – the largest Indian company in the field – will invest around $500 million in Egypt within the next three years, he …

Al Islami Foods, a leading halal food producer in the Middle East, announced its growth figures in a press released with a two-point increase in market share and net sales growth of 59 percent until the end of July 2007. “The main engine of solid growth is our commitment of offering real halal [food] to …

CAIRO: Following the biggest credit card fraud heist to ever hit Egypt, Arab African International Bank (AAIB) has called for a Fraud Forum, sponsored by Visa International. Since the start of the year, Egyptian banks were faced by the dangerous threat of Internet hackers who had monitored credit card transactions during the past years and …