CAIRO: Talks between the Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid and the US Deputy Secretary of Commerce David Sampson have underlined the deep difference between the US and Egypt over the proposed bilateral free trade agreement. The free trade talks between the US and Egypt were suspended in mid-2006 for political disagreements. Sampson …

CAIRO: State-owned Banque Misr has launched sober negotiations with Vodafone Egypt on a LE 2 billion loan ($350 million) to finance the company s license for 3G services obtained last week for LE 3.34 billion. A senior official at the bank said the bank was examining the proposal to finance the company s efforts, including …

IFC official: positive potential of decision outweighs negative CAIRO: Minister of Investment (MOI) Mahmoud Moheiddin issued a decree Saturday lowering the minimum capital requirement for limited liability companies (LLC) from LE 50,000 to LE 1,000. According to an MOI statement, the decision was made to encourage small and medium enterprises (SME) to structure themselves according …

Economy scores behind Yemen and Oman regionally CAIRO: Egypt advanced one position to No. 127 out of 161 countries on the Heritage Foundation’s annual Economic Freedom Report. An overall score of 53.2 percent, the country came in 13th in the Middle East and North Africa region out of 17 countries, scoring less than 50 percent …

CAIRO: The time is not right for the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Egypt and the US because economic considerations are not yet ripe, Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohammed Rachid said Monday at a press conference kick-starting a US-Egypt Business Council meeting. “On the economic and trade fronts there is progress, but …

Cairo: Egypt signed a free-trade deal with the four countries of the European Free Trade Association on Saturday, aiming to eliminate customs duties on almost all industrial goods by 2020. The agreement between the EFTA – comprising Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland – covers industrial products, fish and processed farm goods, the parties said in …

CAIRO: Following a closely fought three-way pitch, Beiersdorf Middle East FZCO (BME) has awarded OMD, part of the Omnicom Media Group, its media buying and planning account for 2007 onwards. The most lucrative asset within the BME portfolio is the globally recognized Nivea brand. Marketing Director for Beiersdorf Jean-Manuel Canga-Valles said: “The three way pitch, …

National production nears pre-Avian Flu 2 million per day level CAIRO: The Poultry Import Committee (PIC) is recommending the government end duty-free poultry imports upon expiration in March of the time frame allotted by the Ministers Councils, and not pursue further extensions. With national poultry production nearing its pre-Avian Flu level of 2 million chickens …

CAIRO: The Ministry of Petroleum (MOP) signed a technical assistance agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to reform the country s mining laws in favor of investors, IFC announced Wednesday. Under the agreement, IFC s Technical Assistance Office for the Middle East and North Africa will conduct a joint review of the country s …

LONDON: Egypt s Orascom Telecom plans to sell a $500 million 7-year bond after a roadshow, a banker familiar with the sale said on Friday. Orascom on Thursday hired Credit Suisse and Citigroup to manage the sale. The bond will not be callable for three years, and proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, …

DAVOS: Egypt s economy should expand by 7.5 percent this year, with growth taking priority over curbing inflation, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said on Thursday. Our first priority is to grow and grow as fast as we can. We have achieved levels of growth of about 7 percent and, continuing on that path, we are …

Cairo: Gunfire broke out Thursday between police and protesters opposed to construction of a cell phone tower south of Giza, and one man was killed and 20 people were wounded, authorities said. Several thousand residents of Kafr Turk, a town about 19 miles south of Cairo s twin city of Giza, had gathered to protest …

Cairo: The main share indexes fell up to 2.6 percent on Thursday as retail investors adjusted their stock portfolios ahead of the new month, traders said. The sentiment in the market is not that great amongst retail investors, who have sold on a purely sentimental basis ahead of February, said Ahmed El-Hifnauy of EFG-Hermes. Retail …

Cairo: The central bank will start auctioning deposits, but the instruments will not be tradable on secondary markets, traders said on Wednesday. The central bank said in a statement that it was adding the deposits to existing financial instruments in a move aimed at diversifying instruments used to absorb market liquidity. The CBE intends to …

Amr Badawy: negotiations ongoing with Mobinil on 3G license CAIRO: The number of mobile and fixed telephone line subscribers continued to climb according to government expectations, a revised Ministry of Telecommunication and Information Technology (MCIT) report released this week said. According to the report, mobile subscribers reached 17.2 million by the end of November 2006, …

Cairo: The Egyptian Ministry of Transport has allocated about LE 1.2 billion of funds to construct new roads and bridges in 2007. Tarek Al-Attar, chairman of the General Authority for Roads and Bridges, said the authority has allocated LE 586 million of the government funds to construct 735 kilometers of roads and eleven bridges that …

Agence France-Presse CAIRO: Egypt signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday aimed at restructuring the gold mining sector, which officials predicted could bring in more than 10 billion dollars and reshape the country s economy. The MoU was signed by Oil Minister Sameh Fahmy and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private arm of the …

Ministry of investment continues drive to lower public company debt to LE 10 billion CAIRO: Minister of Investment Mahmoud Moheiddin said Wednesday the government has paid off LE 1.16 billion, representing the debts of six subsidiaries of the Holding Company for Trade. The largest beneficiaries of the debt settlement included Al Nasr for Import and …

CAIRO: ITSoft, an Egyptian computer programming company, signed an agreement Monday Jan. 22 with Phoenix Systems Herland Financial Solutions, an American company, to provide them with software and information systems. The event took place at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (IT) in Smart Village in the presence of the Minister of Communication and …

Cairo: Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid said on Tuesday that Egypt will sign a free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which includes Switzerland, Norway, Finland and Liechtenstein. The agreement is scheduled to be signed on Saturday on the sidelines of this month’s World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting …

CAIRO: Kaza Royal Club announced today an exclusive partnership with EgyptAir and Karnak Travel to add a new range of airline and travel benefits for its members. Egypt is a strategic market for us at TVB Group and we are keen in offering customers in Egypt the most benefits of any program, said David Home, …

Islamic banking, which implies the avoidance of interest, has become a substantial industry during the last four decades. One obvious question is whether its emergence further segregates Muslims from Western values and norms, creating a financial ghetto. An alternative view is that as increasing numbers of people in the West are dissatisfied or skeptical about …

Cairo: Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said on Monday the revenues gained from selling the third license of mobile network, which amounts to LE 20 billion, will be used in establishing more infrastructure, education and health projects, reported the State Information Service. Nazif told reporters that the government pays due attention to the communications and Information …

Project one of three luxury resorts to be launched in 2007 HURGHADA: Jordan’s Shaheen Group broke ground Tuesday on its $2 billion Serrenia project, a high-end resort now under construction in Sahl Hasheesh. Construction is expected to last for 3 years on the 2.5 million square meter property designed by London-based Foster & Partners. In …

New school aims to educate banking sector CAIRO: Underlining the financial sector’s interest in pushing bank payment cards into the domestic marketplace, credit giant Visa will launch a certification program for Egypt’s banking sector this May. The educational program and certifications will enable local bank managers and employees to familiarize themselves with the basics of …

Plant in Al Beheira part of LE 36 billion plan to add 7,000 megawatts by 2012 CAIRO: Minister of International Cooperation MIC Fayza Aboul Naga signed a $102 million (LE 580 million) loan agreement Monday on behalf of the Egyptian Government with the Kuwait Investment Fund to finance the construction of Al Atf Power Plant …

Cairo: The Egyptian Company for Tourism Resorts has decided on a 10-for-one stock split with effect from Jan. 29, the company said in an announcement published on Tuesday. The new shares will have a nominal value of LE 1 ($0.175) instead of LE 10. The shares were trading on the Egyptian stock exchange on Tuesday …

Cairo: Orascom Telecom (OT) may buy back five percent of its global depositary receipts (GDRs) this year, the company said in a statement seen on Tuesday. Orascom Telecom continues to evaluate opportunistic repurchases of its GDRs in light of favorable relative market valuations, the statement said. In order to provide the flexibility to repurchase GDRs …

CAIRO: Health services for expectant mothers and their babies in four of Upper Egypt’s governorates are to receive a major boost thanks to a grant of nearly two million dollars from the Japanese government to the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF. The funds were formally delivered at a signing ceremony in Cairo on Tuesday presided …