CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the pound fell to 8.15 percent on Wednesday from Tuesday s 8.269 percent as banks awaited the results of a central bank auction, traders said. The central bank auctioned 56-day certificates of deposits worth LE 6.4 billion ($1.1 billion). Certificates worth LE 8.2 billion matured at the same …

KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait and Gulf Link Ports International has signed a $1 billion, 40-year concession agreement to build a major container terminal in Egypt, the KGL PI chairman said Tuesday. Under terms of the agreement, the company will build, finance and operate the terminal in the Egyptian city of Damietta, Mohammed Al-Mazeedi told a press …

CAIRO: Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, heading an Egyptian delegation consisting of Dr. Ziad Bahaa El-Din, chairman of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) and the vice chairman of GAFI, was in La Baule, France, yesterday for the annual three-day International Investment Conference, where he delivered a speech on reforms undertaken by …

CAIRO: One striking aspect of the Cairo ICT conference earlier this year was the multitude of government departments present as exhibitors. A range of e-government projects, such as smart cards for subsidies and portals for various government services, are underway. Another field in which IT companies, particularly multinationals, feature prominently is education. The volume of …

CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the pound jumped to 8.3 percent on Tuesday, from 8.083 percent on Monday after a central bank auction drew liquidity from the market, traders said. The central bank auctioned 7-day certificates of deposits worth LE 8 billion ($1.4 billion). Few banks traded between themselves, preferring to enter the …

CAIRO: Analysts, journalists, technology and communications professionals from around the world gathered in Cairo yesterday for the first of three days of the Offshore Customer Management International Conference. The conference highlights key developments in the Egyptian call center industry and examines administrative, cultural and regulatory issues that affect the industry. This is the event where …

CAIRO: An Egyptian-Saudi holding company for real estate has been established under the name of Al Oula Egypt, with a paid-in capital of LE 500 million. Al Oula Development, one of Saudi Arabia’s largest real estate companies, together with other Gulf partners, will retain 50 percent ownership of this new company, while a consortium made …

CAIRO: As parliament continues to debate the state budget for the next fiscal year, booming oil prices have raised questions about how to deal with the rising cost of subsidizing energy. Minister of Finance Youssef Boutros-Ghali warned the Shura Council last month of the danger of funding additional petroleum products and natural gas subsidies with …

CAIRO: Having officially announced its new agent in Egypt at the Automech Akhbar El Yom car exhibition on Thursday, Kia Motors says that it seeks a share of 12 percent of the Egyptian car market. Kevin Chung, president of Kia s regional headquarters for Middle East and Africa operations in Dubai, explains that his company …

Reforms to improve mortgage process designed to boost investments CAIRO: By March 2006, 490 mortgage loans worth a total of LE 178 million had been granted by the two sole mortgage finance companies in Egypt, Al-Taamir and Al-Masria, according to the Ministry of Investment. Mortgage loans granted by banks also increased, amounting to LE 125 …

ALGIERS: Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) group plans to invest $200 million to build a new cement plant in Algeria, a senior manager said on Thursday. We are waiting for approval from the authorities to start building the plant, with a capacity of 1.5 million tons per year, Hocine Sadat, marketing director of OCI subsidiary Algerian …

CAIRO: An Egyptian delegation is currently in Bahrain marketing investments in Egypt worth $2.54 billion in diverse sectors, with an emphasis on the tourism and industrial sectors such as petrochemicals and fertilizers, agriculture and services, according to the Ministry of Investment. One of the chief priorities under the government’s investment umbrella is the modernization of …

CAIRO: Egypt and Germany could expand the horizons of their bilateral development cooperation provided that the Egyptian government makes available the conditions enabling such cooperation, said representatives of Germany in Egypt. In a German Embassy press conference Tuesday, German Ambassador Martin Kobler explained the commitments agreed upon with the Egyptian government in the area of …

CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the pound rose slightly to 8.2 percent on Wednesday from Tuesday s 8.185 percent as bankers awaited the result of a certificate of deposit auction. The central bank was auctioning 21-day certificate of deposits worth LE 4.6 billion. Three of seven banks contacted by Reuters had dealt overnight …

CAIRO: Orascom Hotels & Development (OHD) signed a series of agreements with the Omani government for the construction of tourism destinations in four locations in Oman, one in Muscat, another in Sifah close to Muscat, a third in the scenic city of Salalah in the south and a fourth on Al Soda Island. The agreements …

CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the pound was unchanged at 8.125 percent on Tuesday compared to Monday s close, as the market awaited the result of an auction. It is still quiet because everybody is waiting for the result of the 7-day note auction, one trader said. The central bank offered seven-day certificates …

CAIRO: Calyon Bank Egypt, which is 75 percent owned by French investment bank Calyon, is to issue new stock to raise its capital to LE 500 million ($86.7 million), the bank said on Tuesday. In a newspaper advertisement, the bank said the capital increase, which was approved at the bank s extraordinary shareholders meeting last …

CAIRO: Golden Pyramids Plaza, the company that owns CityStars, is studying an initial public offering (IPO) of up to 40 percent of its capital. The company is currently owned by a group of Saudi investors led by the Sharbatly Group. Although the company has not given any indication of the possible size of the offering, …

DHAKA: Orascom Telecom s Banglalink, the fastest growing mobile phone operator in Bangladesh, said it had 2 million subscribers in a market that is expected to have 18 million users by end of the year. Banglalink has reached the 2 million subscribers only within 15 months of (starting) its operation, Lars P Reichelt, chief executive …

CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the pound remained broadly steady at 8.1 percent on Monday, compared with Sunday s 8.086 percent, in the absence of auctions, traders said. The market is very liquid. There s no demand at all. There are no auctions, one trader said. Five out of 10 banks contacted by …

CAIRO: The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank, held a one-day conference yesterday with the Egyptian Public and Private Sector to discuss response strategies to bird flu. The conference, entitled, “Avian Influenza Biosecurity; Bridging the Knowledge Gap to Facilitate Public-Private Partnership, delved into all aspects of this global virus, …

Reuters GAZA: Businessmen in Gaza, facing steadily worsening economic conditions since Israel limited trade in and out of the poor coastal strip, are trying to move their operations across the border into Egypt. Unable to import raw materials or export finished goods because of the near embargo, many factories are having to lay off workers …

CAIRO: JP Morgan has issued a report on Egypt’s latest economic developments and performance, with foreign direct investments (FDI) being one of the biggest, reoccurring features in the report. According to the global financial services firm, the government has taken several important steps toward improving the investment climate in Egypt. The report cites the increase …

CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the pound dipped to 8.075 percent on Sunday from 8.177 percent on Thursday on continuing liquidity from the cancellation of a T-bill auction, bankers said. The market has been pretty liquid since they cancelled the one-year auction on Thursday, one banker said. The Finance Ministry had offered 364-day …

CAIRO: Quality in the local food industry is a major concern in terms of safety, as well as a huge hurdle to exporting success. Only around 80 local food producing companies follow the international hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP), a necessary requirement to export. Other companies do not even sustain basic safety standards or …

Vodafone Egypt has announced its financial results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2006, with the strongest results seen in its history in terms of active customer figures, revenues and profits. Ian Gray, chief executive officer and managing director of Vodafone Egypt, who took the opportunity to thank customers and underlined the company’s commitment …

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt: In 1982, an informal Kuwaiti stock market known as Souq Al-Manakh collapsed. Speculators armed with vast funds from booming oil prices and from the dubious use of post-dated checks fueled share prices to unprecedented levels. Excited by their easy gains, most traders did not care to notice that many of the companies …

CAIRO: Some may accuse it of being an excessive bureaucracy, others may say that its stringent product standards are a barrier to trade, but the European Union s extensive experience with writing rules and creating institutions to support its economic and political ambitions is a fact. Europe has a good deal of experience with institution-building …

Agence France-Presse CAIRO: Egypt has unexpectedly reaped huge economic and strategic benefits as a result of an acrimonious battle between Israel, the Palestinians and British Gas over the Gaza Strip s new-found energy bonanza. After years of secretive horse-trading, Egypt is set to pip Israel at the post to buy gas recently discovered off the …

CAIRO: Egypt has invited the world s major oil and gas producers and consumers to a roundtable in November to discuss supply security, Petroleum Minister Sameh Fahmi told AFP Thursday. I took the initiative to ask for a roundtable, bringing together members of the Organization of the Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC) countries, as well as …