CAIRO: Some 1,200 leaders from the Arab world and beyond are due in Sharm El-Sheikh this morning to kick off the World Economic Forum. Under the theme “The Promise of a New Generation, President Hosni Mubarak is due to inaugurate the summit, the first “Davos to be held in Egypt. As with previous WEF conferences, …

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt: Egyptian security closed jetties and moved boats for divers away from the scene of a World Economic Forum event opening on Saturday in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, scene of bomb attacks last year. Police also brought in extra security to check people arriving in the small beach and diving …

CAIRO: Increased economic integration of Arab countries is one of the priorities of Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid, who discussed the measures being taken to address some of the shortcomings of the Greater Arab Free Trade Area in an interview with The Daily Star Egypt. Regional trade is also one of the …

CAIRO: The Egyptian banking sector has witnessed substantial developments since the unified banking law was introduced in 2003. The law strengthened the independence of the central bank and increased the minimum capital requirement five-fold, from LE 100 million to LE 500 million for local banks and from $10 million to $50 million for branches of …

CAIRO: As you enter the Oriental Weavers (OW) International factory in 10th of Ramadan City, you are greeted with a black glass pyramid. Inside lays the first carpet weaving machine OW founder Mohamed Farid Khamis used. Back in 1979, when OW first saw the light, weaving machines could only take a handful of colors in …

CAIRO: As part of a national plan to “makeover Egypt so that the country can compete on a global scale and face the challenges bought on by globalization, the Egyptian government has returned its attention to the small and medium enterprise (SMEs) sector, representing a big chunk of the productivity of the Egyptian economy. According …

CAIRO: While no one can deny that the investment climate in Egypt has significantly improved since the government undertook a few bold measures starting in 2002, the year that Egypt opened its economy to the private sector, investments in Egypt have yet to reach their peak. In an exclusive interview with The Daily Star Egypt, …

CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the pound slipped to 8.05 percent on Thursday from Wednesday s 8.099 percent because the central bank accepted fewer funds than expected in an auction, bankers said. The central bank had offered 63-day certificates of deposit worth LE 8.8 billion ($1.5 billion), but accepted bids worth LE 6.464 …

CAIRO: Arab and Israeli political and business leaders are to meet for three days in Egypt s resort of Sharm El-Sheikh from Saturday, only a month after the Sinai was hit by a fresh spate of suicide bombings. Some 1,200 leaders from the Middle East and beyond are expected to converge on the Red Sea …

NEW YORK: Haim Saban, the billionaire media and entertainment investor, is part of a private equity group considering a bid for Spanish-language broadcaster Univision, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. Saban s name appeared early on when the bidding interest flared up, but then quickly disappeared as bankers and private equity sources assumed …

CAIRO: Egyptian American Bank (EAB) on Wednesday posted a 27.5 percent fall in its first quarter net profit to LE 64.36 million ($11.15 million). EAB had a first quarter net profit of LE 88.84 million in the same period last year. The largest shareholders in the bank are France s Credit Agricole SA, with 56.15 …

CAIRO: The market mechanism of supply and demand requires certain rules, procedures and institutions to be in place in order to operate properly, and the Egyptian housing market is an exemplary demonstration of the breakdown of this mechanism in the absence of the proper infrastructure. The housing market has an excess of supply; many vacant …

MILAN: Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris said on Wednesday he aimed to raise about 2 billion euros from the listing of Weather Investments, which controls Italy s second biggest mobile phone operator, Wind. Sawiris, who heads Weather Investments, also said it would likely go to market in Milan by the end of this year at the …

CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the pound fell to 8.10 percent on Wednesday from Tuesday s 8.154 percent, with the market experiencing short-term liquidity, bankers said. Four of nine banks contacted by Reuters had dealt overnight, between 8 and 8.15 percent. Rates at banks contacted on Tuesday were at 8.25 percent. We ve …

BELGRADE: Serbia s privatization agency said 10 firms had expressed interest in the purchase of Mobtel, its first mobile phone company now renamed Mobi 63, at a starting price of 800 million euros ($1 billion). Bids came from Norway s Telenor, Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom, Mobilkom Austria, the mobile unit of Telekom Austria, Sweden s …

Head: CAIRO: Calyon Bank Egypt reported a net profit of LE 22.1 million ($3.8 million) in the three months to the end of March, the stock exchange said in a statement on Tuesday. The figure represents a 481 percent increase compared with same period last year. The bank is 75 percent owned by French investment …

MADRID: Spanish oil and gas company Cepsa said on Tuesday it has gained a new exploration permit in Egypt s western desert enabling it to boost its exploration activities. After a licensing round organized by the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), Cepsa won the permit for the South Alamein block measuring 3,228 square km in …

CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the pound rose to 8.25 percent on Tuesday from Monday s 8.123 percent with market conditions largely unchanged, bankers said. Four of seven banks contacted by Reuters had dealt overnight, all of them at 8.25 percent. Rates at banks contacted on Monday were between 8 and 8.1875 percent. …

CAIRO: The European Union has pledged to fund 200 new girl-friendly schools countrywide, in a joint bid with the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) to work towards a greater inclusion of females in education. The schools will target girls in the most marginalized areas, said Dalia Hassan, executive director of the NCCM girls …

NICOSIA: Cyprus is pressing ahead with a search for oil and gas amid encouraging signs that deposits could lie beneath the seabed between the island and Egypt, Commerce Minister George Lillikas said Monday. The chances are quite high in light of results from searches carried out by Egypt in an area not far from the …

CAIRO: The Capital Market Authority of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) granted EFG-Hermes a license to operate as an Investment Bank in the Saudi Stock Exchange on Monday. The license, which they applied for in January 2006, will allow EFG-Hermes to act as a brokerage house in KSA, to practice asset management activities and …

CAIRO: With the official end of the Industrial Modernization Program in two weeks, the European Union asserted its continued support for the program s implementing body, the Industrial Modernization Center (IMC), through technical cooperation. Klaus Ebermann, the head of delegation of the European Commission in Egypt and the European Union s ambassador to Egypt, says …

CAIRO: Telecom Egypt said on Monday growing subscriber numbers, strong internet penetration and stable revenues per user had led to a 44 percent jump in first-quarter net profits. The firm, Egypt s only fixed-line operator, reported net profits of LE 536 million ($93 million), up from LE373 million last year. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation …

CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the pound fell to 8.10 percent on Monday from 8.118 on Sunday in a liquid market lacking major auctions to boost demand for funds, traders said. A decision by the central bank to accept fewer bids than expected in an auction last week had increased market liquidity, the …

GENEVA: More than 1,200 government, business and civil society leaders from 46 countries will meet together in pursuit of outcomes to help prepare the way for a more prosperous and peaceful future for the Middle East under the working theme, The Promise of a New Generation. Participants will look at the role of business as …

CAIRO: Raya Holding, one of the biggest information technology and telecom solutions providers in Egypt, held a series of presentations and seminars yesterday as part of their three-day annual Raya World 2006 Conference and Exhibition. Among the topics discussed were E-Government solutions. Since the appointment of Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and his new cabinet, the …

CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the pound fell to 8.10 percent on Sunday from 8.118 percent on Thursday as demand dropped in the middle of a period for calculating banks reserves, traders said. Rates dipped because banks were not in need of funds in the middle of the two-week central bank period and …

CAIRO: With the World Economic Forum only days away, Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieddin is talking about investments. With the support of Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, the minister announced yesterday that the government is currently studying the possibility of establishing a development company in Sinai to aid the growth of the tourism and trade industries …

BEIRUT: The Egyptian government is moving away from using stock listings for privatization because of stock-price declines in the Middle East, Investment Minister Mahmoud Mohieddin said on Thursday. Egypt will instead move toward seeking principal investors for some of the major companies on the government s privatization agenda, the minister told Dubai-based Al Arabiya television …

MARRAKESH, Morocco: President Hosni Mubarak arrived in Morocco Thursday on an official visit aimed at boosting trade between the two north African countries and reducing Morocco s marked trade deficit with Egypt. Mubarak was greeted in the city of Marrakesh by Morocco s King Mohammed VI, with whom he was set Friday to chair a …