CAIRO: Nearly 500 students graduated from the Information Technology Institute’s (ITI) nine-month interactive training program on Monday. The program provides a select number of applicants technical and skills building training in an effort to cater to the market’s need for high-caliber professionals. “It is with great responsibility and honor that we offer these students to …

CAIRO: National Bank of Egypt said on Monday it had signed an agreement with South Korea s STX Shipbuilding Co. to fund Egypt s purchase of six ships for $251.6 million, according to state news agency MENA. Atiya Salem, vice chairman of National Bank of Egypt told MENA the bank was funding the purchase of …

Amadeus, a leader in technology and distribution solutions for the travel and tourism industry, has added 5,000 more hotel properties to its distribution system since October last year, providing travel agents from the Gulf region with access to 75,000 properties across the globe, according to a press release. Amadeus continues to place particular emphasis on …

Starbucks Egypt donated 20 percent of its first month’s sales in a bid to promote literacy in Egypt. Member of Alshaya Retail Group, Starbucks Egypt joined forces with 4-OurKidz – an Egyptian NGO – to support educational programs for unprivileged youth by building Knowledge Corners at local school libraries. The first Knowledge Corner was established …

The Golfing is good on the glimmering Red Sea HURGHADA: The sweltering heat might have affected the players’ performances at the Sixth Red Sea Pan-Arab Open Amateur Golf Championship, were it not for the sea breeze blowing in over the coast. The course on which the Championship was played, The Cascades, in Soma Bay, Hurghada, …

Dubai: Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) is planning to hold special promotional road shows in Egypt in the last quarter of 2007 in collaboration with the UAE Embassy following a huge demand for information from potential investors at the recent Interbuild 2007 exhibition in Cairo, according to a statement released to the press. Businesses operating …

CAIRO: Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid began Sunday a one-week visit to Spain – the first official visit of its kind for more than a decade -in a bid to promote bilateral political and economic ties and further boost Spanish investment into Egypt. “Egypt has long enjoyed good political and strategic relations …

CAIRO: Egyptian shares continued a week-long rally as the CASE30 index recorded a new year closing high for a third consecutive day on Thursday, despite cautious investor sentiment, according to analysts. Market performance during the day was relatively volatile as it headed down early in the session before reversing the trend before the market s …

Reuters LONDON: Egyptian Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali said on Thursday the government plans to make its domestic debt clearable through the settlements system Euroclear in an effort to attract more international investors to its robust economy. Egyptian officials are currently in London talking with investors about a planned Eurobond that Ghali previously told Reuters …

ATHENS: Egyptian billionaire and Orascom Telecom Chairman Naguib Sawiris said on Thursday he was interested in expanding his interests in Greece beyond the telecoms sector. “We expressed our interest in further investments in Greece such as the media and banking sectors, Sawiris told reporters after meeting Greek Finance Minister George Alogoskoufis in Athens. Sawiris s …

CAIRO: Uzbekistan Airways’ maiden flight from Tashkent arrived at Cairo International Airport Tuesday night, the first direct route linking North Africa and Central Asia. On board was Uzbek Deputy Minister of Aviation Jawdat Saedov, who said that running the new route was one of the fruits of the Egypt-Uzbek summit, held in Cairo last April. …

CAIRO: Almost two months after launching its mobile operations in the country, Etisalat Egypt plans to bid for the second landline network license, again demonstrating its confidence in Egypt’s evergreen telecom market. “The backbone of our strategy is to provide various services across the entire communications sector rather than limiting ourselves to mobile operations only, …

Microsoft’s Windows Vista may be the latest in Windows technology, but it is proving to be difficult for the average user to handle. Microsoft made a number of changes to Windows XP, launching Vista to businesses late November 2006, and releasing the operating system to the general public two months later. Vista’s evolved infrastructure may …

CAIRO: Companies and factories that reduce carbon dioxide emissions and apply environmentally friendly practices are in for a monetary reward in an effort to promote “clean business techniques. “For each ton of reduced CO2 emissions, companies receive a certificate, which acts as a bankable commodity sold in the open market or in financial institutions such …

CAIRO: If the economy is growing, why can t I feel the effect? That s the question almost every man on the street is asking. If the numbers announced regularly by the government are accurate, then why can t the average person feel the difference? GDP has increased by LE 16 billion. Unemployment rates are …

Reuters WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) board will meet on Monday at the prompting of developing nations which want Europe and the United States to agree to throw open selection of a new managing director to candidates from around the globe, officials said on Friday. The top International Monetary Fund job has always gone …

CAIRO: The World Bank’s (WB) latest report, “International Migration, Economic Development and Policy, presented Wednesday highlights the impact of immigration on both host and origin countries. The report shows uneducated return migrants in developing countries receive an average of 48 percent higher wages than non-migrants with similar profiles. Highly educated migrants see an 18 percent …

CAIRO: The morning after the Egyptian Cup final, fans of both Al Ahly and Zamalek celebrated the results of the exciting match. Meanwhile, “flag businessmen were counting the money they collected selling fans cheering materials for the season’s final face-off. Red Devils’ supporters were satisfied with their 4-3 victory, and the White Tribe fans were …

CAIRO: Pursuing new investment opportunities, expanding advisory services, and supporting private sector-led growth across the region, the International Finance Corporation – private sector arm of the World Bank Group – recently announced new transactions that pushed its annual investments in the Middle East and North Africa region above the $1 billion mark for the first …

Reuters KARACHI: Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris is among four parties competing for a majority stake in Pakistan s Saudi Pak Bank, in a sale expected to raise over $100 million, banking sources said on Tuesday. The small lender with a market capitalization of just over $150 million is majority owned by the Saudi Pak Industrial …

CAIRO: A 14-strong delegation from Abseron Rayonu, the biggest governorate in Azerbaijan is to arrive in Cairo tomorrow for a five-day visit. This comes at the invitation of Qalubeya Governor Adly Hussein, said Faiq Bagirov, ambassador of Azerbaijan in Cairo. Bagirov said the delegation, led by Governor Faragov Zakir, will meet with Minister of International …

CAIRO: Adding to its long list of achievements this year, the Arab African International Bank (AAIB) received the Euromoney award for excellence as the “Best Bank in Egypt 2006 in Abu Dhabi. AAIB was also recognized for the expansion strides it has taken in the Middle East. According to AME Info, Vice Chairman and Managing …

CAIRO: For the second consecutive year, students from Misr International University (MIU) won first place in the annual Students in Free Competition (Sife) contest. The team will go on to compete in the Sife World Cup October 11-12 in New York. In Monday’s national round held at the InterContinental Hotel, CityStars, teams of students from …

IBM Egypt, in partnership with Bibliotheca Alexandrina, launched Monday a cooperation agreement that will utilize virtual reality techniques to examine the adverse impacts of Cairo’s climate on the Sphinx, one of the world’s most renowned monuments. Located on the Giza Plateau, the Sphinx, dates back over 4,500 years to the Old Kingdom and the time …

CAIRO: More than 10,000 workers in Ghazl Al Mahala Company have renewed their sit-in last Sunday for half an hour and threatened to escalate the protest to an open scale strike on July 21, Mahmoud Al Attar, an activist in workers movement organizing the protest, told The Daily Star Egypt. Workers in Mahala Textile Company …

CAIRO: Emaar Egypt s sales center – featuring true-to-type models of the Uptown Cairo real estate project – will soon open to the public and start receiving visitors and potential buyers. The center will showcase virtual models and prototypes of villas, apartments, in addition to various archetypes of leisure and entertainment complexes. Spread over 4 …

CAIRO: Egyptian shares rose on Monday, led by Orascom Telecom and housing and real state stocks because a major state-owned insurance body resumed trading on the Egyptian exchange, dealers said. The National Authority for Social Insurance, which has portfolio investments in the stock exchange, did not buy or sell shares from June 15 until June …

CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the pound dropped to 8.76 percent on Monday from 8.791 percent on Thursday in a liquid market on the last day of a two-week reserve calculation period, dealers said. The market is still very liquid because it s the last day of the reserve ratio period, one dealer …

The Egyptian British Business Council (EBBC) will hold its biannual meeting in London on Tuesday July 3. The EBBC – an independent bilateral body composed of senior business figures from the UK and Egypt – feeds the views of the business community into both governments. The meeting will discuss how to further stimulate trade and …

CAIRO: Inflation in Egypt declined to 10 percent in the year to May 2007 from 11.7 percent in the year to April, a monthly government report on economic indicators showed on Monday. The month-to-month rate slid to -0.2 percent in May from 0.4 percent in April. The month-to-month rate in May 2006 was 1.3 percent, …