Egypt plans to hike its oil output by 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 800,000 bpd in 2008, the petroleum ministry said Wednesday. A program was set up for developing some recent discoveries in the Gulf of Suez and the western Sahara, with the aim of hiking production by 100,000 bpd, a statement said. These …

Egypt Aluminum , the country s only primary producer of aluminum, expects to make profits of LE 800 million ($140 million) in the financial year ending June 30, the stock exchange said. Egypt Aluminum sent the stock exchange the forecast in response to media reports on the expected profit, it said. In the financial year …

Reuters NEW DELHI: Indian state-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) is firming up a proposal to buy up to 33 percent in an Egyptian deepwater gas block from operator Royal Dutch Shell, sources said on Thursday. Talks are at an advanced stage. Very soon a high-level government panel will take a decision whether …

CAIRO: Car sales in Egypt have been rising year on year as more people manage to purchase cars at affordable prices. “Definitely, there has been a very big increase in car sales since the reduction of customs on 1.6 liter cars at the end of 2004, Nesreen El Barkouky, senior specialist at Chrysler told The …

CAIRO: Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif stressed the importance of taking swift measures to deal with the increasing number of passengers of various nationalities arriving at Hurghada International Airport, according to reports by the State Information Service (SIS) yesterday. Nazif s statements came during a meeting Monday attended by Minister of Defense Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Minister …

Future of company is in setting up cities, El-Mehdi says CAIRO: Siemens’ approach to Egypt focuses on the country’s human capital, the company’s President and CEO in Egypt Mohammed El-Mehdi said in an exclusive interview with The Daily Star Egypt. “Siemens must play a bigger role in Egypt in the area of human capital, he …

CAIRO: Egypt welcomes more Chinese investment and is expecting China to be Egypt s main investor, Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieldin told reporters on Monday evening. During an interview with Xinhua and other Chinese press, Mohieldin was reported to have said that Chinese investors are welcome in Egypt. With growing interest, Egypt sees the rise …

Kuwait s World Oil and Environment Company has won 50 percent of Egypt s Kom Ombo oil field exploration and production concession, the official Kuna news agency reported Tuesday. Farouk Al-Yahia, chairman of the Kuwaiti company, told reporters at a press conference earlier that that day his company had signed a transferring contract with Canada …

CAIRO: Oryx Regional Private Equity Fund, based in Bahrain, acquired 30 percent of “HC Securities and Investment Company , HC announced late last week. Oryx Regional Private Equity Fund is owned by the National Commercial Bank NCB, one of the largest banks in the Middle East. “The presence of Oryx Regional Private Equity Fund as …

CAIRO: Marriott International Sales Office announced a 12 percent growth in sales for 2006 in the Middle East, Africa and the Subcontinent in comparison to 2005. The increase was driven by a surge in inter-regional travel in the Business Transient and Meetings Incentives Conferences and Exhibitions (Mice) categories. Changing patterns of consumer behavior also triggered …

Siemens signs contract for Children s Cancer Hospital CAIRO: Medical solutions for Egypt s health care system were discussed at Siemens First Annual Medical Solutions Awareness Day held Sunday in Giza. Children in school must be the first priority in health insurance, said Mohammed El Wetidy, senior vice president and head of medical solutions at …

CAIRO: Stocks drifted downwards on Sunday in thin trade with no news to move prices decisively in either direction, brokers said. Sentiment among local retail investors was negative while non-Arab foreigners were net buyers by a margin of LE 85 million ($15 million). The market was very quiet and it s drifting. There seems to …

Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif announced that Egypt plans to supply Lebanon with natural gas, the official news agency Mena reported on Monday. Cabinet spokesman Magdi Radi was reported to have said that Egypt and Lebanon signed an agreement whereby Egypt will supply Lebanon with natural gas through an Arab natural gas pipeline. The news reports …

CAIRO: The Minister of Petroleum issued urgent instructions last weekend to continue the development plan implementation of the latest naval discovery of Crude oil in Suez Gulf in the prospect rights of the American company IBR, according to reports issued by the State Information Service (SIS). The field was found in the new exploratory field …

Dubai-based private equity company Abraaj Capital is in talks to take over Egyptian Fertilizers Co. EGFR.CA, the general manager of the Egyptian company said on Monday. Mustafa Kamel said that Abraaj started due diligence studies on the company three weeks ago. The largest single shareholder in Egyptian Fertilizers, which has an output capacity of about …

CAIRO: Artoc Chairman Mohammed Shafik Gabr spoke to the press Monday on the infamous Emaar project which had tongues wagging in the Egyptian press over Gabr’s reasons for selling his stake in the company to his Emirate partners. Citing “differences between him and his then partners Dubai firm Emaar Properties, Gabr said “the partnership couldn’t …

CAIRO: In a flurry of activity since failing to sign a free trade agreement with the US last year, Egypt is expanding beyond the traditional Anglo-American trade umbrella and to seek new trade partners in the East and South, while not overlooking key regional and African partners. In the past few weeks, Egypt singed trade …

The Italian companies are strongly keen on investing in the industrial sectors in Egypt, Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid was reported on the sidelines of the international furniture exhibition in the Italian city of Milan. Rachid opened Egypt s pavilion in the exhibition. Some 41 Egyptian companies are taking part in the …

Reuters MANAMA: Standard Chartered Plc will arrange two benchmark-sized Islamic bonds by June and is eyeing Africa for expansion, the bank s Islamic operations chief said on Thursday. Standard Chartered Islamic operations head Afaq Khan also told Reuters the firm would launch options contracts that comply with Islamic law by June. We will be arranging …

A new book on the future of the Black Continent foresees a dismal time for Africa under global policies CAIRO: The conflict that marked the struggle for self-rule in South Sudan, the current ups and downs in the Darfur crisis, the Somalia file and the civil wars that continue to plague many African nations have …

CAIRO: The Egyptian Tourism Authority (ETA) has visited Oman as the second stop on its regional roadshow across the Arab world. During this inaugural visit to the country, the ETA focused on initiatives to build stronger ties between Egypt and the tourism industry in Oman. The ETA delegation, led by the Undersecretary of the Ministry …

CAIRO, April 18 (Reuters) – The median overnight interbank rate on Egypt s pound was steady at 8.77 percent on Wednesday compared to Tuesday s 8.773 percent in the absence of central bank auctions for certificates of deposit, traders said. Banks tend to revert to the interbank market in the absence of auctions for the …

CAIRO: Optimism about market heavyweight Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) countered selling pressure by retail investors to help Egypt s main stock indexes end steady on Wednesday. It is the second day foreign buyers have been buying large cap stocks like OCI, while on the other hand retail-led stocks have been going down because of profit-taking, …

CAIRO: An Egyptian paper submitted to the 6th Ministerial Conference of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) in Qatar this month, addressing international gas industry projections on the short term pointed out that the global growth in demand for gas is expected to reach 3.7 percent annually till 2010 which represents 24 percent of the …

CAIRO: Speculations were still rife on Wednesday over the constitutional court verdict ruling unconstitutional article 96 of the income tax law. The court ruled on Sunday that the tax base of profits from commercial or industrial activities according to article 96 has already been subject to direct taxation, which constitutes a burden on the financers, …

CAIRO: RWE Dea announced yesterday, in a press conference at the Conrad Hotel, plans to sponsor primary schools in Greater Cairo as part of its Social Activities Project, which focuses on improving children’s lives through education. The German natural gas and crude oil exploration and production company is an international operation. RWE Dea has maintained …

CAIRO: Egyptian share indexes rose on Monday led by the real estate sector with both Egyptian Resorts Company and Heliopolis Housing gaining five percent, dealers said. Egyptian Resorts, which decided on Thursday on a two-for-three stock dividend, rose to close at LE 28.57 ($5.02). The firm, whose shares are popular among retail investors, is also …

CAIRO: Private shareholders owning 53 percent of Egypt s National Bank for Development (NBD) are willing to accept an offer of LE 11 ($1.93) a share from a UAE consortium, a bank official said on Tuesday. NBD General Manager Sharif Farouk told Reuters that the bank had written to the consortium, led by Abu Dhabi …

CAIRO: Egypt s Paints and Chemical Industries Co. (Pachin) is in talks with a potential buyer for 100 percent of its shares, the stock exchange said on Monday. The Capital Markets Authority received a letter from Pachin which said the buyer would make an offer for the stock after concluding a due diligence study, the …

CAIRO: Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif Sunday allocated LE 240 million ($42 million) to the ministries of health and agriculture to help combat bird flu, the official Mena news agency reported yesterday. The virus has killed 14 people out of 34 cases reported since the disease was first diagnosed in Egypt in February last year. The …