CAIRO: The Egyptian Insurance Supervisory Authority is close to developing new models and regulations for investment of local insurance funds. Sources told reporters on Tuesday that the bulk of insurers investment portfolios would focus on investments in securities. Most companies have concentrated their investments in bank deposits over the past few years, which has cut …

Reuters NEW YORK: Egypt s economy is expected to grow by 7 percent in the next five years and to break last year s record for investment from abroad, Investment Minister Mahmoud Mohieldin told Reuters on Monday. Egypt s economic reform program is already paying dividends, with an expected 7 percent growth for the fiscal …

Legislation outlawing live poultry trade expected by end of current People’s Assembly session CAIRO: The Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (MoA) initiated a campaign this week to draw investors to establish poultry abattoirs outside Greater Cairo ahead of the widely expected ban on live poultry trade. According to a ministry official, MoA will offer …

CAIRO: Shares edged down on Monday led by Al Watany Bank, which said it had not received any specific monetary bids from Arab and international banks for a controlling stake, traders said. The bank s shares fell 2.9 percent to LE 46.27 in the session, a day after shares soared 9.3 percent on speculation that …

Contracted companies to sell rights to billboard construction, advertising space on trains CAIRO: The Railway Authority (RA) is working with promoters to lease its estimated 190 million sq. m. of land properties and sell advertising space on its trains, according to a Ministry of Transport (MoT) official. The Egyptian Company for Railway Projects is now …

Annual inflation reaches 12.6 percent; highest in 26 months CAIRO: The annual inflation rate reached 12.6 percent at the end of last month, up 0.2 percent from January and marking highest rate in 26 months, the Central Agency for Public Statistics and Mobilization (Capmas) reported Sunday. The February rate is the highest since the implementation …

CAIRO: Sources at Etisalat Egypt, the third mobile phone operation in Egypt, refuted allegations that the company had approached the National Telecom Regulatory Authority to postpone indefinitely its commencement of business in the Egyptian market. Press reports in Egypt this week had allegedly quoted the Managing Director of Etisalat Egypt, Saleh Al-Abdouli, as saying that …

CAIRO: Orascom Telecom led Egyptian shares down on Sunday in a session that saw Al Watany Bank rising on rumors that it may sell a stake to a regional bank at a premium to the market price. Traders said there were rumors, unconfirmed by Al Watany, that several Gulf banks had submitted competing bids for …

CAIRO: Lebanese Bank Audi announced Thursday its official launch in Egypt with $100 million capital and $1 billion total assets. In a press conference that took place at the Four Seasons Nile Plaza Hotel in Cairo, both Hatem Sadek, chairman and managing director of the bank, and Gaby Kassis, vice chairman, refused to address journalists …

CAIRO: A delegation led by Aburizal Bakrie, Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare in Indonesia, has discussed investment opportunities in Egypt, specifically in rock phosphate. “We need the phosphate for fertilizer, Bakrie told The Daily Star Egypt. The minister’s visit centered on different facets of development; discussions were held on child labor, drugs, HIV and domestic …

CAIRO: A study carried out by the Information and Decision Support Center indicated that 89 percent of surveyed Egyptians are satisfied with the new cabinet s performance. The study under the auspices of the Prime Minister s Cabinet showed that 22 percent rated the government s two-year performance as very good and 26 percent rated …

Reuters WASHINGTON: US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said on Thursday he believed Egypt and the United States were destined to negotiate a free trade agreement, reviving hopes of a deal dashed many times. It really comes down to a matter of timing – when is the right time? It s not if, it s when, …

CAIRO: Egyptian government sources said last week Egypt will honor its commitments according to the joint oil exploration agreements signed with Cyprus despite Turkey’s announced intentions to offer international tenders for exploration blocks in the same areas. The Turkish Government had announced last week through the state’s Anatolia News Agency it intends to offer tenders …

An expert is underlining the material gain and environmental positive aspects of paper recycling An expert is calling for increasing the local production of paper to half a million tons every year to cater to the needs of the Egyptian market for different kinds of paper. Essam Saber Abdel Sayed, expert at the Chemical and …

IFC Regional VP: visible results, transparency a must to earn public, private sector confidence CAIRO: The Ministers of Investment and Finance (MoI) and (MoF) continued their 2006-launched drive to encourage businesses to enter public-private partnerships to implement infrastructure and public service projects at the inaugural Middle East and North Africa PPP Summit launched Monday. Speaking …

CAIRO: The bank is ready to finance any Egyptian peaceful nuclear energy ventures if the government asked for it, World Bank Executive Director Mohamed Kamel Amr was reported to have said in statements to local press earlier this week. Egypt s status inside the World Bank is strong now and has the potential to obtain …

Kassem: Egyptian textiles producers should not be threatened by liberalization CAIRO: Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid said Thursday the free trade agreement with Turkey entering implementation this month is expected to boost bilateral trade from LE 1 billion in 2005 to LE 5 billion in the next three years. The agreement allows …

CAIRO: Demand for housing in Greater Cairo, which includes Cairo, Giza and Qalioubya governorates, is estimated at 603,700 units, according to the initial results of a study conducted jointly by the Ministry of Investment and the Ministry of Housing. The results of the study, discussed by both ministers on Wednesday, analyses demand for housing in …

ANKARA: Turkey s pipelines will be ready in 2008 for suppliers to pump their natural gas to the European market, Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler said on Tuesday. Starting in 2008, any countries which want to sell gas to Europe will be able to pump gas through our national network of pipelines, Guler told reporters. …

CAIRO: The Ministry of Trade and Industry has imposed a ban on the use of plastic alternatives for steel rebars in construction activities, as home builders ignored warns on the perils of using plastic reinforcement in construction. In a statement Wednesday, the Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid said that the government abolished …

Ministry to spend LE 3 billion to upgrade signaling system CAIRO: The Ministry of Transportation (MoT) will spend LE 3 billion in the next 24 months to upgrade the railway system’s signaling system, including the incorporation of GPS technology, Minister Mohamed Mansour said late Tuesday in unveiling the broad lines of the ministry’s plan to …

Nazif: There s agreement on principles but mechanisms take time CAIRO: Egypt and the European Union (EU) said Wednesday the March 6 signing of the European Neighborhood Policy s (ENP) Action Plan represents their agreement to move forward with political and economic reform within Egypt and create a nuclear-weapons free Middle East. A nuclear-weapons free …

CAIRO: Simon Hasdell, Hilton Hotel’s vice president of operations for Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, believes in Egypt s huge potential when it comes to the tourism and hotel industry. Hasdell used to be the general manager of Hilton Tokyo Bay, located at the Tokyo Disney Resort. He told The Daily Star Egypt that the …

CAIRO: An official source in Kuwait-based Kharafi Group in Cairo announced the group was scheduled to launch works to build its chemicals and petrochemicals complex in Fayoum within six months, wired Al-Qabas. A Kharafi executive disclosed the project totaled $675m in costs, furthering the group had obtained a final approval from the Egyptian Ministry of …

Moheiddin: Government to take necessary measures to protect interests of state, investment in Egypt CAIRO: Artoc Group has agreed to sell its 60 percent stake in Emaar Misr to Emaar Properties, the Ministry of Investment (MoI) announced Tuesday. The deal, signed Monday, requires both sides to conclude the transaction by March 27. A deal value …

CAIRO: Orascom Telecom, one of the biggest telecom firms in the Middle East, reported an 8 percent rise in its 2006 net income on Sunday to $719 million. The firm said in a statement it raised earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization by 43 percent to $1.95 billion. Revenues also rose 36 percent on …

CAIRO: Credit Suisse and Citigroup kept their outperform and buy ratings on Orascom Telecom Holding respectively, following the company s 2006 results. Superior EBITDA and earnings growth potential, steady return on capital, improving cash-flow generation and a strengthening balance sheet are our key arguments, Credit Suisse said about Orascom, one of the biggest telecom firms …

CAIRO: Main Egyptian stocks dropped on Monday with market mainstay Orascom Telecom leading the way down a day after reporting full-year results in line with market expectations. The results were already priced in the market, said Ahmed El-Hifnauy of investment bank EFG-Hermes. Orascom Telecom, headed by Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris, reported an 8 percent rise …

Abishevich: countries need to capitalize on “considerable untapped economic potential CAIRO: Egypt and Kazakhstan signed an agreement to boost bilateral economic and trade activity between both countries and launched their first joint business council Monday. In a ceremony attended by Khazakhstani President Nazarbayev Nursultan Abishevich and Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid, business …

CAIRO: Egyptian stocks made slight gains on Sunday led by Al Watany Bank, whose shares surged 14.4 percent on reports that regional banks were seeking to acquire a majority stake, traders said. Shares in Watany ended the session at LE 43.90 after the Egyptian bank said an unspecified number of regional banks, whom it did …