CAIRO: Vodafone Egypt Foundation unveiled its new project “A World of Difference at a press conference on Tuesday in Cairo. The project, aimed at encouraging volunteerism in Egypt, will sponsor five volunteers who will work with five NGOs for one year. “Many people want to serve but they can’t leave their job and they don’t …

LONDON: World oil demand this year will be slightly higher than previously expected, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday, because of growth in developing countries. The agency lifted its absolute demand estimates for 2009 and 2010 by 70,000 barrels per day (bpd) from its estimate in February. It now expects world demand to …

CAIRO: Egypt s Raya Technology and Communication aims to diversify into logistics to tap demand in a relatively virgin market as it shifts away from its main technology businesses, the firm s chairman said. Raya, which sells mobile handsets, runs call centers and provides outsourced IT services, intends to use its experience in technology to …

CAIRO: Endeavor’s first international selection panel gathered in Cairo to choose businesses that will benefit from the mentorship and network access offered by the NGO, which supports entrepreneurs. Endeavor staff from Mexico, Turkey, Jordan and the US, as well as American and Egyptian consultants, gathered to review the profiles of 11 entrepreneurs, seven from Egypt, …

NEW YORK: Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim has dethroned Microsoft founder Bill Gates as the world wealthiest person and China is fast catching up with the number of US billionaires on the annual Forbes rich list. The new annual list saw the 70-year-old Slim catapult from third place last year to the top spot, thanks to …

CAIRO: Egyptian representatives from various multinational companies discussed the costs and benefits of product innovation on a panel hosted by Ipsos, a survey-based research company headquartered in Paris. Rahif Kayal, Ipsos’ MENA marketing research director, pointed out that rates of product failure have risen as a result of faster trend cycles. “The rate of success …

CAIRO: Urban annual consumer price inflation for February fell to 12.8 percent, down from 13.6 percent in January and slightly below analysts’ expectations. Predictions from analysts had ranged from 12.4 to 13.9 percent, but settled on a mean of 13.3 percent, according to Reuters. Three out of six analysts saw annual urban inflation rising to …

CAIRO: Egypt s benchmark index ended higher after two days of losses as blue chips including Orascom Telecom and Orascom Construction rebounded in a low-volume session. Orascom Telecom led, gaining 1.6 percent and Orascom Construction rose 1 percent. Today s sentiment is positive, said Mohamed Kotb of Naeem Holding, but added however that volumes are …

CAIRO: The confidence of the Egyptian consumer has returned, according to a recent Consumer Confidence Survey carried out by MasterCard. In the minds of Egyptians, the anxiety of the global economic crisis is over. MasterCard’s survey on Consumer Purchasing Priorities revealed that 86 percent of Egyptian consumers surveyed consider “dining and entertainment their top spending …

CAIRO: Egyptian vehicle maker GB Auto expects to double profits in 2010 and plans to start exporting buses and trailers to Middle Eastern and African markets from the second quarter, executives said on Monday. The automotive sector in Egypt, the Arab world s most populous country, was hit last year by the downturn but demand …

CAIRO: Egypt s main index ended 1.2 percent lower, weakened by some concerns about the health of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, 81, after surgery at the weekend, traders said. Irresponsible rumors on the president caused a sell-off by retail investors, said Osama Mourad of Arab Finance Brokerage. The rumors died out in the last hour …

The size and scale of the protests in Greece were hard to ignore. Athenians filled Constitution Square in the heart of the capital protesting the austerity measures being put forward by the government of George Papandreou. This is his first major test on the ground since taking office last autumn. It is quite easy to …

CAIRO: “This is the most interesting stock market in the region, Vera Trojan, senior vice president, partner, and equity portfolio manager for Wellington Management Company, said Sunday “We are impressed with the efforts of the leading companies on the stock exchange, and [their] progress in transparency, disclosure and investor relations efforts, she added. Trojan expressed …

CAIRO: Egypt s main index ended 0.5 percent lower, pushed down by Orascom Telecom (OT) following negative news from Algeria and a broad late session selloff. At the end of the session, the whole market took a decent beating, said Karim Hosny from Pharos Securities. Most of the 30 constituents ended in the red. Investment …

CAIRO: Algerian authorities have rejected Orascom Telecom s appeal against claims its Djezzy unit owed back taxes and penalties from 2004 to 2007, the Egyptian mobile operator said on Sunday. Orascom said it intends to appeal the rejection according to the Algerian rules and regulations which dictates a three tiered appeal process. To do so …

Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) was the main support as Egypt s main index ended 0.35 percent higher in a session of low-volume trade. The market is still stagnant. Buyers are not confident enough to start buying, and sellers are not in a panic to sell, said Omar Darwish of CIBC brokerage. Volumes remain the weakest …

CAIRO: Egypt wants to see a further fall in global sugar prices before resuming its raw sugar purchases, an official at the state-owned Sugar and Integrated Industries Company (SIIC) told Reuters on Sunday. We are waiting for a price improvement, the official said. He did not say at what price he would issue a new …

CAIRO: Trading on Egypt s small and medium size enterprises (SME) stock exchange Nilex will start between March and June, a newspaper reported on Sunday. We will start with three or four companies that comply with trading rules, most important of which is floating no less than 10 percent of their capital, the daily Al-Mal …

CAIRO: With progress in Egypt’s agrifood sector, the Dutch Trade Mission in Cairo saw an opportunity: bringing business from both countries together for a matchmaking session. “The potential of cooperation with the Dutch part is huge; agriculture is [the start] for us, said engineer Tarik Tawfiq, chairman of the Egyptian Dutch Business Club and the …

CAIRO/DUBAI: Egypt and Saudi Arabia will drive growth in steel consumption this year in the Middle East and North Africa region, where booming construction and infrastructure spending will lift demand. But demand in Dubai, once a major powerhouse with its insatiable steel appetite, is unlikely to rise in 2010, with banks still reluctant to lend …

CAIRO: Egypt aims to tap the Eurobond market for $1 billion-1.5 billion in weeks, the first such issue since 2007, the Finance Ministry said on Friday. The markets are favorable. There is a huge demand from investors in London, New York and Asia, Finance Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali told Reuters. We plan to test the outer …

DUBAI/SINGAPORE: Middle East oil demand could grow by nearly 5 percent in 2010, outpacing a modest recovery in global energy demand as the world’s top oil exporting governments continue spending petrodollars to boost economies, analysts said. Oil export income has fuelled expansion in the region, and given governments the cash to spend their way through …

Orascom Telecom rights issue almost fully subscribed Orascom Telecom said its rights issue was almost fully subscribed, raising more than $790 million for the mobile operator as it challenges an Algerian tax bill. This was expected because anyone who did not subscribe would have had his shares hugely diluted, said Ahmed Adel, a telecom analyst …

CAIRO: We traveled out to Giza to tape our video links for the program wanting to utilize the fabled backdrop of the Pyramids for maximum impact. Egyptians normally cringe at the thought because they believe the image represents the past and they want to be seen as modern like some of their Gulf neighbors with …

CAIRO: The Minister of Investment, Minister of Communications and the Chairman of the General Authority for Investment (GAFI) are leading delegations to Hong Kong and Singapore this week to promote Asian investment in Egypt. The annual Euromoney Egypt Investor Conference, held in London for the previous five years, took place in Hong Kong. The decision …

CAIRO: Egypt s EFG-Hermes jumped 7 percent, its sharpest gain in more than seven months, after it said it was opening an office in Syria, boosting the stock further after market talk of a hefty dividend payment. There is market talk of a possible distribution of special dividends related to Audi bank deal in addition …

CAIRO: From email to banking services, everything has been made mobile. And with the rising popularity of Blackberrys, this trend is only going to grow. Blackberry services were initially geared towards the top management of large corporations, who needed to be constantly hooked up to their work emails and company servers. But as the market …

CAIRO: The Egyptian Junior Business Association (EJB) hosted earlier this week Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan as a guest speaker at its annual conference, which this year focused on how sustainability can improve competitiveness in all sectors in Egypt. EJB has around 600 members from different sectors working to enhance the business environment, with …

CAIRO: With the Arab world s largest population and a high level of poverty, Egypt is an ideal candidate for the expansion non-traditional banking products, including mobile banking and microloans. The government is now setting the legal groundwork needed to increase the banking options available to its low-income citizens. Since its international debut six years …

CAIRO: Commercial International Bank (CIB), winner of “Best Bank in Egypt 2009 awarded by Euromoney, sat down with Daily News Egypt to discuss 2009’s success and 2010, a year that looks to see extensive evolution of the Egyptian banking sector. Asked whether the possibility that needed foreign investment might remain scarce, they optimistically replied, “Where …