CAIRO: Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid announced the mutual determination to establish a free trade agreement (FTA) between Egypt and the countries of South America’s Mercosur bloc: Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. The minister said during a press conference, “We expect to reach an agreement and sign the free trade agreement at …

SHARM EL-SHEIKH: While day one of this week’s COMESA forum presented investment opportunities by highlighting key sectors of interest, day two focused more on doing business, pointing to the obstacles facing the region’s ability to attract and maintain investments. One word kept coming up throughout the day’s sessions: corruption. Samih Sawiris, chairman and CEO of …

Real estate, OT help boost Egypt index Orascom Telecom (OT) and a bullish real estate outlook boosted Egypt’s main index to fresh highs, in a rally traders said they expect to continue on Thursday and next week. “I see us going up to 7,700 (points) by tomorrow or Sunday, said Teymour El-Derini of Naeem, adding …

CAIRO: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released its latest evaluation of the Egyptian economy, the Country Report for 2010. While praising Egypt’s “resilience to the economic crisis, the report cautioned against allowing election pressures to weaken the agenda of economic reform. Impending parliamentary election this November and a presidential election in September 2011 are at …

CAIRO: After several days of meetings, the US-Egypt Business Leaders Forum, along with Minister of Trade Rachid Mohamed Rachid and US Ambassador to Egypt Margaret Scobey, signed an agreement to support a new entrepreneurship program to benefit both Egypt and the US. Taher Helmy, co-chairman of the Business Leaders Forum and partner in the Helmy, …

Egypt s index down 1.2 pct, OT slides Egypt s benchmark index closed 1.2 percent down, dragged by heavyweight Orascom Telecom (OT) which slid 1.7 percent as investors cashed in gains after shares rallied in the previous six sessions. Traders said the index was undergoing a correction but a rebound is expected within the week. …

SHARM EL SHEIKH: Swiss-based Orascom Development Holding plans to start a budget housing project in Iraq after elections, part of its wider push into low-income homes, its CEO said on Tuesday. The developer, known for building high-end resorts, also aims to start selling homes in a budget project in Romania by the end of the …

CAIRO: Egypt s finance minister said on Monday he was ready to consider a new cigarette tax to boost healthcare spending for low income groups, which is being discussed in parliament. Egypt is overhauling healthcare and insurance to improve services for its 78 million people, of which about 20 percent live on less than $1 …

SHARM EL-SHEIKH: “The image of Africa does not reflect the positive economic developments that have taken place . and it’s time to portray a new image and put Africa on the investment map, Egyptian Investment Minister Mahmoud Mohieldin said Monday at a COMESA conference. During his opening remarks at the third annual COMESA Investment Forum …

OT leads Egypt index to 6th session of gains Egypt s benchmark index extended its rally for a sixth session, rising 0.9 percent on continuing speculation heavyweight Orascom Telecom (OT) will sell its Algerian unit Djezzy. OT, the largest Arab mobile firm by subscribers, rose 2.9 percent. Djezzy said on Sunday it paid the final …

DUBAI: The crowded Islamic insurance industry, which is expected to surpass $8.8 billion in premiums in 2010, will see more consolidations over the next three years as insurers are struggling to be profitable, a report said. Ernst & Young, said on Monday in its annual global report on the Islamic insurance industry, called takaful, many …

LONDON: Middle Eastern companies signed $6.65 billion of syndicated loans in the first quarter, up 30 percent from $5.13 billion in the same quarter a year before, according to Thomson Reuters LPC data. Speculation over Dubai World s $26 billion debt restructuring cast a shadow over the Middle East loan market in the first quarter, …

CAIRO: HNS Group announced the completion of the construction works of 85 percent of Sun City phase one, Cairo’s new lifestyle and entertainment complex, which is scheduled to open in September, 2010, the company said in a press conference last week. With an estimated value of LE 2 billion and approximately 200,000 square meters over …

Egyptian inflation slowed to 12.2 pct in March Egypt s inflation rate declined for a second month in March, giving the central bank more room to keep its benchmark interest rates at a three-year low, says CAPMAS. Urban inflation, the main rate the central bank monitors, slowed to 12.2 percent from 12.8 percent in February, …

CAIRO: Private sector cooperation between the US and Egypt – boosted by bilateral government support – has reached a new stage, according to the US Egypt Business Leaders Forum, formerly known as the US-Egypt Business Council. Co-chairman Taher Helmy, founding member of Helmy, Hamza and Partners, the Cairo office of international law firm Baker and …

CAIRO: An Egyptian court has upheld a ruling barring a France Telecom buyout of Mobinil, Egypt s largest mobile operator by subscribers and the focus of a bitter dispute with co-owner Orascom Telecom. Judge Hamdi Yassan said minority shareholders would be disadvantaged by the French firm s offer at LE 245 ($44.40) per share, less …

US exports to Mideast may hit highAfter a slump last year, US exports to the Arab world are expected to rebound and reach record levels this year, according to a new study by a Washington-based group.The National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce predicted in its latest report that exports from the US to the Arab world …

CAIRO: Egypt is preparing three laws to regulate parts of its insurance industry and help insurers boost their meager market penetration, the insurance regulator said. The laws, governing microfinance, private pensions and private health insurance, follow reforms in the last few years that opened the industry to private firms, restructured state-owned insurers and regulated insurance …

CAIRO: Fawry announced Wednesday the launch of its electronic bill payment service at 700 retailers in Cairo and Alexandria, which will allow customers to pay in cash their bills for the participating service providers without having to visit their representative offices. So far biller companies which have contracted Fawry include: Vodafone, Mobinil, Etisalat, Telecom Egypt, …

CAIRO: Egypt s El Sewedy Cables expects net profit to rise 25 percent in 2010 as its loss-making activities recover and sales pick up, it said on Thursday. Net profit is seen climbing to around LE 800 million ($145 million) in 2010, Sewedy executives said in a conference call. All investments that were losing in …

DUBAI: Orascom Telecom (OT) surged on market talk it will sell its Algerian unit Djezzy, lifting Egypt s index to a 23-week high on Thursday. Dubai fell to a two-week low, Abu Dhabi extended losses and Bahrain and Kuwait also declined following heavy profit-taking in dual-listed Ahli United Bank (AUB). OT, the Arab world s …

CAIRO: The Egyptian pound grows increasingly attractive as a currency for investment as it maintains a stable rate of approximately LE 5.5 to the US dollar. In a Reuters poll, 11 economists predicted that the rate would stay at 5.51 through the end of June and increase to 5.53 in July, settling at 5.52 by …

South Valley Cement 2009 net profit at $28 mln Egypt s South Valley Cement posted 2009 net income of LE 151.8 million ($27.5 million), up from LE 6.5 million in 2008, the stock exchange said on Thursday. The exchange gave no other details. -Reuters LVMH plans luxury developments in Egypt, Oman LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis …

CAIRO: Rowad Tourism has sold a roughly 5 percent stake in real estate firm Egyptian Resorts, giving Egyptian Resorts shares a boost. Rowad sold about 50 million shares in Egyptian Resorts for LE 2.28 ($0.41) each, Egyptian Resorts Investor Relations Manager Abu Bakr Makhlouf said. This implies a total value of LE 114 million, according …

CAIRO: Egypt s monopoly cigarette maker, Eastern Company, is considering supplying tobacco and manufacturing expertise to Sudanese firms in a step to expand in African markets, Egyptian media reported on Thursday. Eastern Company s share will range between 25 and 40 percent of net profits earned from the agreement, the daily Sharouk newspaper quoted Nabil …

CAIRO: At the start of the month, Ezz Steel raised steel prices for the month by LE 820, which brings the cost of each ton to LE 4,100, on the back of higher raw material costs and much to the discontent of the public. Although the record 25 percent price hike drove up the company’s …

Egyptian mobile subscriptions up 642,000 in Feb The number of mobile phone subscriptions in Egypt rose by 642,000 to 56.49 million in February, according to communications ministry data. The figures amount to a penetration rate of around 72 percent, although industry executives and analysts estimate that some 20 to 25 percent of the market involves …

CAIRO: As desertification dries up farmland across the Arab world, the region s governments cannot remedy concerns about food security solely by looking to Africa for agricultural production, a regional expert said. Desertification threatens 20 percent of the already dry Middle East and North Africa, pushing many states to invest in African farmland to feed …

CAIRO: Investment Minister Mahmoud Mohieldin said on Tuesday Egyptian labor protests were focused on wages and contract demands at specific firms and did not pose a broader risk to local or foreign investment. Low wages, surging prices and privatization have been the major complaints in a rising number of industrial disputes involving public and private …

It is an event, like Davos, known more by its location name than anything else. The European House/Ambrosetti Financial Workshop has been a discreet but respected venue for two decades, held on the cusp of spring in Cernobbio on Lake Como. The event attracts about 150 leading Italian industrialists who rub elbows with a handful …