CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the Egyptian pound remained steady at 8.755 percent on Thursday in a liquid market, traders said. The market has been very liquid for the past four months, since there have been no CDs (Certificates of Deposit), one trader said. Banks tend to turn to the interbank market in …

CAIRO: Egyptian shares fell on Thursday from profit taking on EFG-Hermes and Mobinil , dealers said, one day after the benchmark Hermes index reached an all-time closing high. The whole market fell on profit taking today. A lot of retail investors cashed out before the weekend, said Mohamed Radwan of Delta Securities. Institutional investors were …

CAIRO: The 14th International Conference and Exhibition for Building and Construction, Inter-Build, kicked off on June 21 at the Cairo International Conference Center, where over 1,000 companies displayed their products in their uniquely designed booths. Inter-Build is an attempt at discovering ways of conducting discussions regarding development projects and how to achieve that kind of …

CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the Egyptian pound was steady at 8.755 percent on Monday compared with 8.757 percent on Sunday in the absence of auctions for certificates for deposit, dealers said. We expect the market to stay liquid this week because we don t see any Central Bank deposits to absorb the …

CAIRO: El Sewedy Cables said on Monday it will build a $50 million power transformer plant in Egypt, with production expected to start by April 2008. The Egyptian firm, one of the biggest cable manufacturers in the Middle East, said in a statement the plant would have an initial annual production capacity of 600 dry …

CAIRO: Egyptian stocks slid on Tuesday as a wave of profit-taking hit Heliopolis Housing, which had helped lift the market over the past two sessions on talk that it was seriously undervalued, dealers said. In the housing shares, we have seen profit-taking because of a huge rise on Sunday, especially in Heliopolis Housing. People are …

CAIRO: Want to make your enterprise healthier and more sustainable? Two words: corporate governance. A firm’s corporate governance affects its economic performance and its ability to access long-term, low-cost investment capital. Enterprises with stronger corporate governance strategies have higher firm value, higher profits, and higher sales growth and are able to create a warmer climate …

CAIRO: After being notorious for its greedy revenue collection and hindrance to trade, the Egyptian Customs Authority has now embarked on new reforms that will help it evolve into a facilitator of trade. By adopting the Account Management Service program, the Customs Authority has been able to eliminate bureaucracy at its ports by simplifying goods …

Bilateral relations thrives in various fields CAIRO: Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov is scheduled to visit Egypt next November accompanied by a business delegation, said Bulgarian Ambassador in Cairo Ivan Gaetanjiev. Gaetanjiev voiced Sofia s keenness to strengthen relations with Egypt in all vistas, taking into account Egypt s leading role in the region and the …

CAIRO: Egypt s shares rose on Sunday led by gains in Heliopolis Housing and investment bank EFG-Hermes and boosted by an increased appetite in the international equity market, dealers said. Heliopolis Housing, the second most heavily traded stock by turnover, soared 30.4 percent to close at LE 539.50 following roughly three weeks of steady declines. …

CAIRO: The government is forecasting an overall budget deficit for the 2007 to 2008 fiscal year of 6.9 percent of gross domestic product and a cash deficit of 6.7 percent of GDP, a finance ministry report said on Sunday. The ministry said in the report it was committed to a deficit target of 3 percent …

CAIRO: In accordance with recent amendments to the Investment Law, Egypt’s free zones will no longer host industrial projects only, but will extend to include agricultural and service-oriented projects. That is what Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieldin confirmed yesterday during announcing the organization of the Second Cairo Investment Forum taking place next December. “This year’s …

CAIRO, June 14 (Reuters) – The median overnight interbank rate on the Egyptian pound was steady at 8.756 percent on Thursday, the same as Wednesday s rate, in the absence of auctions for certificates of deposit, dealers said. The market has been liquid for quite some time, said one dealer. Most of the banks are …

Abraaj Capital, private equity investment in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region, announced that it has acquired 100 percent of GMMOS Group, a major regional oil and gas services and industrial group operating in the high-growth Gulf and Caspian markets. GMMOS Group is comprised of four well-established business divisions, including Grandweld, …

CAIRO: Egyptian shares rebounded on Thursday when investors showed renewed interest in Orascom Telecom (OT), despite the company s decision to abandon its bid for Telecom Italia s stake in Brasil Telecom Participaecoes, dealers said. Orascom Telecom was the second most heavily traded stock, after Suez Cement, because the company was buying back its shares, …

CAIRO: The Egyptian government is set to receive a European Union (EU) grant worth 11 million euros (LE 85 million) on June 18 in support of the Egyptian government’s Research, Development and Innovation initiatives. The funds will be utilized over four years by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and will facilitate Egypt’s …

FRANKFURT: German flag carrier Lufthansa unveiled Thursday a code-sharing agreement with EgyptAir that it said would mark the start of close cooperation between the two airlines in the future. Lufthansa said in a statement that the cooperation would begin with the introduction of the winter timetable at the end of 2007. Initially, code-sharing would be …

CAIRO: Feel like stopping by the Gulf this weekend? For around $40,000 not only can you make the weekend trip, but do it in your own private jet. According to Captain Magdy of Travco Group – one of the largest tourism companies in Egypt – around two to three flights depart weekly between the Gulf …

CAIRO: Egyptian shares dipped on Wednesday because retail investors sold off after a decision to remove limits on some share price fluctuations, dealers said. The Capital Market Authority said on Wednesday it was abolishing the limits on single-session price fluctuations for the shares of 45 companies in an attempt to prevent price manipulation. Lifting the …

CAIRO: What could computer companies and environmentalists possibly have in common? Save the Earth’s climate. That is what technology titans Intel and Google confirmed yesterday as they unveiled the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, a global environmental program that aims at making energy-saving computers the norm. “The goal of the initiative is to drive the efficiency …

CAIRO, June 14 – Egyptian shares rebounded on Thursday when investors showed renewed interest in Orascom Telecom (OT), despite the company s decision to abandon its bid for Telecom Italia s stake in Brasil Telecom Participaecoes, dealers said. Orascom Telecom was the second most heavily traded stock, after Suez Cement, because the company was buying …

NGO statistics necessary to measure actual progress CAIRO: The upcoming release of the 2007 United Nations Development Program (UNDP) report on Egypt, which will be officially unveiled this Sunday, will highlight whether Egypt has capitalized on many of the significant gains it had made according its 2005 report. That report recorded a raft of improvements …

CAIRO, June 14 – The median overnight interbank rate on the Egyptian pound was steady at 8.756 percent on Thursday, the same as Wednesday s rate, in the absence of auctions for certificates of deposit, dealers said. The market has been liquid for quite some time, said one dealer. Most of the banks are squared, …

CAIRO: The National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NRTA) is looking into offering an international gateway license to Egypt’s three mobile operators. This step will open the door for the operators to offer international call services independently, without intervention from Telecom Egypt. Currently the three operators offer international roaming services through Telecom Egypt. For a subscriber to …

Actis, a leading private equity investor in emerging markets, announced today that it has acquired a 70 percent stake in Sinai Holding for Marble & Investments (Sinai Marble). Sinai Marble is an integrated marble producer and, with exports to over 40 countries, is one of Egypt s leading marble exporters. With more than $3.4 billion …

CAIRO: Ezz Dekheila Steel plans to buy back 136,677 of its shares from the market, the stock exchange said in a statement on Tuesday. The shares, 1 percent of the Egyptian company s total equity, have a market value of about LE 142 million ($24.9 million) at Monday s closing price. The share price was …

CAIRO: Minister of State for Economic Development Osman Mohamed Osman said on Wednesday inflation fell to 10.5 percent in the 12 months to May from 11.7 percent in the year to April, state news agency MENA said. Osman said the consumer price index fell 0.1 percent in May 2007. In April it had risen 0.3 …

CAIRO: After initiating a private check collection service for the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) last year, Barclays Bank Egypt launched a similar corporate service for bulk cash collection in early 2007. This service by the British bank, Bulk Cash Solutions, is essentially an expansion of an already available cash courier service. And it handles …

HED: CAIRO: Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid held a session of talks on Saturday with senior Russian officials on the sidelines of meetings of the Russian economic forum which kicked off in Petersburg late on Saturday, reported the State Information Service. Rachid was reported to have met with Russian Industry and Energy …