CAIRO: Egypt s main index rose 2.7 percent, tracking global markets, with blue chips Ezz Steel, Orascom Telecom (OT) and Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) leading the index. The market traded for the first day after a four-day Easter break. International markets are doing pretty well … the president is back in Egypt … all …

CAIRO: COMESA’s third annual investor conference will bring together representatives from traditional investors in the US, EU and GCC as well as newer Asian investors, all anxious to capitalize on Africa’s potential. Egypt will host the conference in Sharm El-Sheikh from April 12-13 under the auspices of the Ministry of Investment. COMESA, the largest economic …

NBE may invest in Ethiopia The National Bank of Egypt may invest $150 million in a 20,000-hectare agricultural project in Ethiopia, the Reporter said, citing a bank official. The Egyptian bank has opened a representative office in Ethiopia that will promote trade and investment relations between the two countries, the Addis Ababa-based newspaper said, citing …

LONDON: US crude futures hit an 18-month high on Monday, climbing towards $86 per barrel on expectations of faster-than-expected economic recovery and increasing demand for fuel. Data on Friday showed US employers created jobs in March at the fastest rate in three years. Non-farm payrolls rose 162,000, only the third increase since the US economy …

  CAIRO: If Egypt’s latest period of significant economic reform and growth began in 2004, India’s began 10 years earlier, said Kaushik Basu, advisor to India’s Minister of Finance. The global economic crisis of 2008 slowed India’s growth, but as he pointed out, emerging markets were markedly less affected than developed economies. "The financial crisis …

CAIRO: Egyptian developer SODIC slipped to a net loss in 2009, as expected, but analysts said they see a big upswing in profit toward the end of the year after the company recognizes revenue from home sales. The high-end real estate firm, also known as Sixth of October Development and Investment Company, reported a loss …

ZURICH: Islamic banks are failing to cater for clients wealth management and estate planning needs, pushing them to rely largely on traditional asset managers, said a report published by Bank Sarasin this week. Until very recently there were no dedicated Islamic wealth management services, the report said, and the few that have emerged offer restricted …

MONTPELLIER: Large-scale foreign leases of African farmland risk driving conflict and fuelling corruption in the region without regulation, regional experts told a conference on agricultural development. If rules for responsible foreign land investment can be drafted and followed, leases could provide a much-needed cash infusion for African agriculture, which has struggled to find investment elsewhere. …

CAIRO: The Egyptian Junior Business Association (EJB) unveiled at a press conference on Wednesday their “Guide on Access to Finance , compiled to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Egypt find funding. The guide was put together by a team of finance specialists and consultants and includes an overview of different sources of finances …

Omar Fathy wants to ruin your diet. The CEO of Divine Worx, the company behind the popular Makany sushi chain as well as Burger Joint, Zo and El Sit Hosneya, laughs that pampering people is one of his favorite aspects of being in the food industry. “I like to feed people, to pamper them. If …

CAIRO: Egypt s Raya Technology and Communication is set to sell its call centers to focus on higher returns outside its traditional operations, its chief executive said on Wednesday. The firm, which sells mobile handsets, runs call centers and provides outsourced IT services, has also approved a cash and share dividend, pending shareholder approval, the …

CAIRO: SODIC’s CEO and Managing Director, Maher Maksoud, received the Global Trade Matters-Egyptian Exchange (GTM/EGX) Best CEO of the Year Award. Maksoud accepted the award during the GTM/EGX Fifth Annual Awards Ceremony, which was held on March 23 at the Four Seasons Hotel Nile Plaza. The Strategic Advisory Board for the awards followed a strict …

CAIRO: Swiss-based developer Orascom Development Holding s fourth-quarter net profit jumped 50 percent after the company sold land in Oman and tourism began to recover from the financial crisis. Reuters calculated a quarterly profit of 44.7 million Swiss francs ($42 million) for the firm, which lists depositary receipts in Egypt, based on a stated full-year …

CAIRO: The future of Egypt’s insurance industry comes into focus today at the second annual Euromoney Egypt Insurance Conference. Organized by the Insurance Federation of Egypt and Euromoney, the conference titled “Enabling Egypt’s Citizens to Secure their Future: Developing the Insurance Sector will discuss the conditions and prospects for insurance in Egypt. The conference organizers …

CAIRO: Traffic in Egypt s Suez Canal on Monday returned to normal, a day after an oil tanker ran aground in the waterway, a canal official said. The 54,000-tonne tanker, flying the Liberian flag, had disrupted traffic on Sunday after it rammed into the east bank of the canal, without causing any spillage. The ship …

NSGB to pay cash dividend Egypt s National Societe Generale Bank (NSGB), Egypt s fourth-biggest bank by assets, approved a dividend of LE 1.25 ($0.2) per share, the stock exchange said on Sunday. The dividends will be paid starting April 22, the firm s statement to the stock exchange said. NSGB s 2009 net profit …

CAIRO: One of the potential winners of the global financial crisis, Egypt has maintained a relatively high level of income from Suez Canal and tourism receipts, spurring a GDP growth rate of nearly 5 percent. However, on the back of a massive stimulus spending package in 2009, the country is looking to take advantage of …

Orascom Development eyes Romania land for housing Swiss-based developer Orascom Development has earmarked 2.5 million square meters of land for an affordable housing project in Romania, its first such project outside Egypt, it said on Friday. The project, in which Orascom holds a 70 percent stake, is expected to offer a total of 33,000 units …

CAIRO: Standard & Poor’s (S&P), one of the world’s leading financial market intelligence providers, announced on Wednesday the launch of the S&P/EGX ESG Index, the first of its kind designed to track the performance of companies listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX) that demonstrate leadership on environmental, social and corporate governance (“ESG ) issues. …

CAIRO: Egypt s economy is expected to grow by 5.8 percent in the current fiscal year and 6.5 percent in 2011/12 as it shakes off the global economic crisis, Economic Development Minister Osman Mohamed Osman said on Thursday. The budget deficit is expected to be 8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010/11, declining …

CAIRO: Egypt wants to double revenues from its budding outsourcing industry by 2013 to $2 billion from an expected $1 billion in 2010, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Tarek Kamel said Tuesday. “We [expect] $1 billion in service exports for 2010. We want to double this number by the end of 2013 and increase …

CAIRO: Minister of Finance Youssef Boutros Ghali said Egypt’s budget deficit for fiscal year 2009/10 will come in at 8.5 percent of GDP, predicting that the figure will fall to 7.9 percent for the coming financial year beginning in July. Speaking during a press conference at the Journalists’ Syndicate, Ghali said the total budget deficit …

CAIRO: Egypt still hopes to attract $10 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in this fiscal year despite a weak first half, Investment Minister Mahmoud Mohieldin said on Tuesday. Egypt’s FDI fell to $2.63 billion in the first half of fiscal 2009/10, which began on July 1, from $4.03 billion a year earlier, according to …

Developing a risk appetite is fundamental to scoping and managing a bank’s risks. In simple terms it represents the amount of risk that a bank is willing to assume. In order to do this the bank must first start with the business segments they are currently operating within and the asset exposures they have. The …

Earlier this month the World Bank announced a $300 million loan to Egypt to finance micro and small enterprises (MSEs). The Enhancing Access to Finance for Micro and Small Enterprises Project is expected to boost job creation and economic growth in the poorest layers of Egyptian society. The loan matures over 28.5 years with a …

Last week the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) issued preliminary approval for Egyptian banks to partner with telecoms in conducting mobile money transfers. Khaled Hegazy, director of external affairs for Vodafone Egypt, clarified the implications of the approval. “Mobile money transfers do not require that clients have a bank account. The service would allow someone …

Sovereign borrowing still eludes the Islamic bond, or sukuk, market, leaving investors hungry for a benchmark issue to reinvigorate trading after the credit crunch and the Dubai World crisis. Where issuance from euro zone and emerging market borrowers in 2010 has been fast and furious, with emerging market borrowers alone issuing over $50 billion, there …

CAIRO: Egypt s Beltone Private Equity and Sudan s Kenana Sugar Company will launch a $1 billion agricultural investment fund next week, Beltone said on Tuesday. Gulf and other Arab countries have been investing in a range of farming projects in Sudan, Africa s biggest country by area and long viewed as having huge agricultural …

CAIRO: Internet telephony firm Skype has questioned Egypt s move to ban international calls made through mobile internet connections and said markets should be left open for consumers to choose. National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority head Amr Badawy told Reuters earlier this month it will ban international calls through mobile internet connections. Skype, which has more …

CAIRO: Italian entrepreneurs met with top government officials at Cairo’s Conrad Hotel on Sunday to address developments in the industrial and technological partnership between the two countries and the Euro-Mediterranean answer to the global economic challenges. “There is great potential for economic growth, and like Italy, Egypt’s textile industry is composed largely of private, small-medium …