CAIRO: Egypt s main index ended 0.5 percent down in low volumes, with Orascom Telecom (OT) dipping to a seven-week trough after more than 3 billion newly issued shares begin trading. OT lost 4.2 percent and Orascom Construction (OCI), the index s biggest firm by market cap, dipped 0.3 percent. Citigroup downgraded the construction firm …

CAIRO: An outsourcing call center with the capacity of 1,000 employees will be inaugurated today in Sixth of October. The investor company, Stream, is one of the biggest international outsourcing and tech services companies in the world with expected revenue of several billion dollars over the next few years. Stream is working on this project …

CAIRO: Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid and United States Trade Representative (USTR) Ron Kirk said both nations plan to “double the US-Egyptian trade volume in the next four years. Acknowledging that trade volumes sank under the recent economic duress, from $8.4 billion in 2008 to $7.2 billion in 2009, Kirk highlighted the …

CAIRO: British Gas Group announced Sunday the appointment of Arshad Sufi as BG Egypt s new president and general manager, according to a company statement. On his new post, Sufi said, It is truly an honor to be back in Egypt and again to be a part of BG Egypt, which is one of the …

CAIRO: As the latest technology floods the Egyptian market, cybercriminal activity follows suit. According to Euromonitor International, the number of internet users in Egypt in 2010 has reached 16.4 million or 20.8 percent of the population – up by 2 million from last year. Experts, however, say that awareness of online safety is not catching …

Egypt s main index ended 0.9 percent lower, dragged down by Commercial International Bank (CIB) and Orascom Telecom (OT), which posted a fourth quarter net loss of $46 million last week. Due to lower-than-expected results . we see OT following its global depositary receipts (GDR) guidance over the weekend, especially with low foreign intervention on …

CAIRO: The Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) Monetary Policy Committee left overnight interest rates unchanged at their meeting on Thursday. Rates have hovered at 9.75 percent lending and 8.25 percent deposit since September after the committee issued six rate cuts in 2009 to stimulate economic growth. With the luxury of stable and relatively low inflation, …

CANNES, Fra.: The return of European bank bonuses will breathe life into the world’s catatonic market for overseas residential investment in 2010, the developer behind Egypt’s biggest building project told Reuters. Peter Riddoch, chief executive of Port Ghalib Resort Co., a unit of Kuwaiti construction conglomerate M.A.Kharafi Group, said bankers were among those reviving buy-to-let …

Siemens installs renewable plant in Egypt: agency Engineering group Siemens has taken another step towards becoming one of the world s top three wind turbine makers by 2012 by installing a 250-megawatt renewable energy plant in Egypt s Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea coast. Egypt s state news agency quoted Emad Ghali, head …

DUBAI: Private equity firms in the Middle East are looking at development financial institutions (DFIs) as an alternative to elusive bank lending, executives said on Tuesday. “The change in mix of funding providers – more (reliant) on development financial institutions as opposed to Western commercial banks – is going to be the theme for private …

OCI helps Egypt index rise for 3rd day Egypt s main index rebounded for a third session, pulled up by Orascom Construction Industries (OCI), which jumped after releasing its fourth-quarter results. The EGX30 fell as much as 6 percent earlier this week over concerns about President Hosni Mubarak s health, but has recouped over half …

CAIRO: Egypt s Housing and Development Bank (HDB) will use a LE 930 million ($170 million) capital increase to finish housing projects and expand retail operations, an adviser on the issue said. The increase will raise the bank s capital to LE 1.6 billion and reduce government ownership to less than 50 percent. It includes …

CAIRO: With the advent of the global financial crisis, most countries saw their construction activities grind to a halt as banks tightened lending. In this respect, Egypt is proving resilient; indeed, its cement producers are trying to keep pace with an energetic construction industry. As an anti-crisis measure, the government has aimed stimulus money at …

CAIRO: Egypt s biggest listed firm, Orascom Construction Industries (OCI), posted a 42 percent rise in quarterly profit after margins and prices improved, and said it saw fertilizer demand continuing to grow. The building and fertilizer industry giant posted fourth-quarter net profit of $105.8 million, just below the $111.3 million average forecast in a Reuters …

CAIRO: Financial services group Credit Suisse voiced unequivocal support for Egypt as not only a strong choice for international investment, but as one of the best choices in the region, according to a recent report. The report cited Egypt’s healthy stock market, domestically-driven demand and government economic reforms among its many attractions. However, the turbulence …

CAIRO: Egypt is likely to launch a second tender round just before the end of this year to choose from 10 firms short-listed to build its first private wind farm, a World Bank energy specialist said on Tuesday. In the first round, Egypt shortlisted the firms in November 2009 for the 250-megawatt project. The most …

CAIRO: Egypt s Orascom Telecom posted a fourth quarter net loss of $46.4 million, the company said Monday, citing rioting and hostility in Algeria, one of its main markets, for the sharp decline. The recent riot events in Algeria following the football match had a negative impact on the operations, the Cairo-based regional operator said …

It is without a doubt one of the most pressing issues for the region today, described appropriately by Queen Rania of Jordan as a “ticking time bomb. The region has the largest proven oil reserves and therefore bankable wealth in the world but it cannot diversify fast enough to generate employment to keep pace with …

CAIRO: As an entrepreneur, there are a few people you’d be lucky to meet early on. If you’re lucky, you would even get their advice on how well the business is doing and how to move forward. Egyptian telecom tycoon Naguib Sawiris undoubtedly tops this list. Orascom Telecom CEO Sawiris sits as chairman of the …

CAIRO: Egypt’s National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (NTRA) has decided to enforce legislation banning voice services on the internet, according to Khaled Hegazy, external affairs director for Vodafone. At press time, Vodafone was the only mobile provider to enforce the regulator’s decision, which specifically targets Skype, the free internet calling and video-chat service, making it no …

State-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) has mandated Arab African International Bank to raise a LE 500 million ($91 million) loan, the bank said on Monday. EGPC, which will use the loan for projects and imports, was also negotiating with the bank to raise a second tranche for the same amount, Arab African s General …

CAIRO: Telecom Egypt has proposed a reduced dividend and delayed the launch of an undersea cable until the second quarter, its chief executive said on Monday, after posting lower-than-expected earnings. The TE North cable, which travels from Egypt s Mediterranean coast to Marseille in France, was due to be completed by the end of 2009. …

CAIRO: Egypt s main index EGX30 tumbled 3.8 percent Monday, its biggest one-day fall since Nov. 30, on speculation about President Hosni Mubarak s health because the Egyptian leader has not appeared on television since his surgery, traders said. The German hospital where he is receiving treatment after undergoing gallbladder surgery just over a week …

CAIRO: Endeavor’s first international selection panel chose three Egyptian companies best positioned to benefit from the mentorship and network access offered by the NGO, which supports entrepreneurs. The beneficiaries include restaurateur Omar Fathy’s Divine Worx; catering company El Matbakh, run by Tarek Khaddaj and Heba Jammal; and videogame designers Timeline Interactive, represented by CEO Ahmed …

CAIRO: Egypt s main index ended 2.4 percent lower, its sharpest drop in seven weeks, on heavy selling from Arab and local investors, with losses in Orascom Telecom (OT) dragging the index. Arabs account for more than 15 percent of the market and are heavily selling Egypt, perhaps shifting to the UAE market, not to …

CAIRO: The Egyptian government s New Urban Communities Authority has priced LE 2.5 billion ($457 million) in bonds it is offering at a floating rate of 62.5 basis points above 182-day Treasury bills. The offering will be the first since Egypt changed its laws in December to allow utilities and other quasi-government organizations to issue …

CAIRO: Egypt s Beltone Financial has signed a deal to complete its planned merger with Pioneers Holding and expects to complete the deal by the end of May, Beltone said on Sunday. A Beltone spokesman said the new firm will be called Beltone Holding with Beltone s chief executive, Aladdin Saba, to be its managing …

ISMAILIA: Strong winds on Sunday disrupted shipping through Egypt s Suez Canal, cutting traffic to its lowest level in two decades, and closed four Red Sea ports, maritime officials said. A Suez Canal Authority official said only 26 ships passed through the canal because of the bad weather, which prompted the authority to issue a …

CAIRO: Russia and Egypt will sign an agreement on a Free Trade Zone at the next summit between officials of the two countries, said Trade Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid. On Thursday, Rachid met with his Russian counterpart Minister Viktor Khristenko to discuss partnerships between the two countries. The next meeting between members of the two …

LONDON: Abu Dhabi government-owned Mubadala Development Company has invited banks to participate in a self-arranged $2.5 billion, three-year club loan to refinance existing debt, banking sources close to the deal said. Pricing on the revolving credit will not be set until the end of March, but the borrower is looking for a consensus from lenders, …