CAIRO: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become more than just a fashionable affair to the corporate world. Gone are the days when CSR was an option that corporations entertained when wanting a slight facelift. Today, it is a veiled imposition that, under no circumstance, can be ignored. Unfortunately, while the global private sector has become …

CAIRO: The government is raising the prices of gasoline and diesel fuel by up to 30 percent with effect from yesterday, the government newspaper Al-Ahram said on Thursday. The long-awaited decision, unpopular with the middle classes and vehicle operators, will reduce the government s massive budget deficit, forecast at more than 9 percent of gross …

TRIPOLI: Arab leaders must divert windfall revenues from record high oil prices to help Lebanese and Palestinian people weathering Israeli attacks, the son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said on Thursday. Saif Al-Islam, his father s most influential envoy abroad, said any future Arab summit on the latest wave of Middle East violence would be …

Report addresses economic and political reform CAIRO: Once again, the Economic Intelligence Unit has come out with its annual country report on Egypt, and this year the country has gotten mixed reviews. According to the 2007 country report, the Egyptian government seems to have backtracked on its promise to deliver political reform following recent violent …

CAIRO: In the latest chapter of the saga of Omar Effendi, Egyptian businessman Mohamed Said El-Hanash has offered LE 2 billion for the nation s largest department store. The offer from El-Hanash emerges nearly one week after the Ministry of Investment told The Daily Star Egypt that the sale of the retail giant to the …

New economic laws behind shift from public to private sector CAIRO: According to Minister of Finance Youssef Boutros Ghali, the private sector’s contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) has risen from 30 percent to 80 percent over the past 15 years. In an official statement published by the ministry, Ghali stated that the country’s …

CAIRO: The recently-established Egyptian Competition Authority will begin investigating whether cement and steel producers have violated anti-trust laws. The authority announced its intention to launch an investigation this week in response to a referral from Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid, but the latest actions by the government have not come soon enough …

Company gets ready for next phase of growth CAIRO: British Gas (BG) has announced that they have signed a new concession agreement with Petronas on Monday. The new concession is right on schedule with the company’s plans for expansion. As one of the heavyweights in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) business in Egypt, BG, which …

Egypt hosting the annual regional conference of WAIPA CAIRO: Egypt, an elected member of the executive committee of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) and the current regional chair of the African group, and re-elected for its second term, was unanimously voted by the members of the executive committee to organize the 2006 …

CAIRO: The liberalization of trade in services on a global scale has lagged behind that of goods, but the potential gain is significant for many countries. In Egypt, services account for nearly half of the nation s economic output, and opening up the market to foreign competition and investment can support the growth of other …

CAIRO: As the Israeli strikes on Lebanon decimate nearly half a billion dollars worth of infrastructure and the Tel Aviv stock market plummets, the Egyptian economy and foreign direct investment in particular may be vulnerable to the regional instability. Egypt wants to attract $5 billion in foreign direct investment this year, excluding that of the …

Sheikh Khalifa visits Cairo; construction on new city to begin CAIRO: Of all the countries in the region and the rest of the world taking a newfound interest in Egypt as a port for hefty investments, none has shown greater faith in the country than the United Arab Emirates (UAE). After talks in Cairo as …

Bidders on bank to be narrowed to five CAIRO: For those keeping abreast of the news in the ongoing saga of the privatization of the Bank of Alexandria (BOA), there is light at the end of the tunnel. Nine local, regional and international banks have made their interest in the BOA official. The interested parties …

CAIRO: Over a century ago, Egypt s ruler Mohammed Ali took advantage of the halt of the American cotton trade owing to the civil war in that country and compelled Egyptian farmers to cultivate cotton almost exclusively. The cotton that was grown was long-staple, meaning that its fibers are longer than the other cotton produced …

Cement production in the third world has become big business with increasing environmental restrictions elsewhere CAIRO: Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) Cement Group announced that they have commissioned a cement facility in northern Iraq and are in the process of production. According to an official company statement, the rehabilitation of the 2.3 million ton per year …

Egypt among countries that could be most vulnerable Reuters NEW YORK: The race to boost ethanol production could one day hurt food supply for many of the world s poor, an environmental expert said on Thursday. This is shaping up as competition between the 800 million people in the world that own automobiles and the …

CAIRO: Egypt has achieved a remarkable turnaround in its monetary situation. Until a few years ago, the state of the pound, controlled and overvalued by the government, made imports difficult due to the unavailability of foreign currency and exports too expensive. Subsequent to the devaluation and floatation of the pound in 2003, Egyptian exports have …

Maktoob.com’s partnership with BBC part of growth strategy CAIRO: Maktoob.com, the largest Arab online community headquartered in Jordan, has recently announced that it has partnered with the BBC, as part of the Web site’s newly launched news service. The alliance between the international broadcasting giant and Maktoob is one of the recent spates of acquisitions …

CAIRO: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) should resist further interest rate cuts until low inflation is the norm, despite a plunge in consumer prices since 2005, the International Monetary Fund said in a statement on Tuesday. IMF directors cautioned that any additional interest rate reductions should wait until liquidity growth decelerates further and low …

CAIRO: Conflict between Israel and Hezbollah along Lebanon s southern border hit Egyptian stocks hard on Wednesday, as jittery investors took profits from a two-week rally. Brokers said news that the Lebanese guerrilla group had captured two Israeli soldiers and Israel was preparing a military response triggered some panic on the exchange. Investors were saying …

Trade and industry minister addresses need for poultry CAIRO: Egypt eased restrictions on poultry imports imposed amid the bird flu crisis Tuesday, among a raft of measures aimed at lowering the retail price of food ahead of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Whole frozen poultry, frozen eggs and egg powder will be off the …

Mona Zaki’s personal life combines with her career and community service for a successful mix CAIRO: You don’t need to spend more than five minutes in Dr. Mona Zaki’s office to understand who she is. Once you step into the Garden City office, where she operates her self-founded company Global Strategic Consultants (GSC), a drawing …

Managed funds and increased institutional investment are keys to stability CAIRO: Everything looks different in hindsight. Not long ago spectators marveled at the miracle of the Egyptian stock market. During a two year rally, encouraged by the global economic recovery and a new government keen on market liberalism, investors poured their savings into stocks and …

Andre Porchet explains upcoming strategy regarding competition, new products and potential acquisitions CAIRO: It doesn t require much thought to connect the timing of Nestle s recent launch of a high-end product within its chilled dairy sector, to the expected competition with local newcomer and international leader of manufactured yogurt, Dannon. But according to Nestle …

Additional funding of $37.1 million to be provided by World Bank CAIRO: In an attempt to address the shortage of long-term funds in the housing market, the central bank and 24 private and public financial institutions jointly established a new mortgage refinance company. The Egyptian Company for Mortgage Refinancing (ECMR) has been created with an …

CAIRO: After years of unsuccessful attempts to privatize the retail giant, the board of directors of the Holding Company for Trade finally approved the sale of Omar Effendi to Anwal United Trading Co., a Saudi clothing and apparel retailer. The final approval by the holding company that owns Omar Effendi follows the endorsement of the …

CAIRO: Shares slipped on Sunday as mania triggered by last week s auction of Egypt s third mobile license faded and the market turned sluggish, with telecoms stocks generally lower, traders said. Existing mobile operator Vodafone Egypt dropped 4.7 percent to close at LE 88.66 ($15.37), while rival MobiNil fell 0.4 percent to LE 157.97. …

CAIRO: As the 2006 World Cup enters the next stage of competition, millions worldwide will scrutinize the performance of all the teams in the semi finals. Yet, while the rapture of global audiences is limited to the brilliant tactics of strikers such as Ronaldo and center midfielders like France’s Zidane, a new crop of World …

intoegypt.com is turning former doubters into believers CAIRO: Intoegypt.com, Egypt’s first Internet booking engine and travel portal, has been selected as a model of e-commerce companies in the MENA region following a series of studies on e-commerce companies worldwide by Meditorst Project, an affiliate organization of the European Union, in association with the Egyptian cabinet …

CAIRO: The consortium comprised of Etisalat, Egypt National Post Office (ENPO), Commercial International Bank (CIB) and National Bank of Egypt (NBE) won the bid for the Third Mobile License on Tuesday with LE16.7 billion offer. Concord International Investments, in their capacity as adviser to ENPO, was a member of the committee that had the task …