CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the pound fell to 8.15 percent on Thursday from Wednesday s 8.404 percent because the central bank accepted fewer bids than expected in an auction, traders said. The central bank offered 56-day certificates worth LE 9.1 billion ($1.1 billion) on Wednesday, but accepted only LE 6.6 billion. The …

CAIRO: A seminar on Egypt’s investment climate and investment opportunities is to be held today in South Korea courtesy of the Egyptian Embassy and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) at the Grand Hyatt in Seoul. The seminar is the first initiative to take place under the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the General Authority …

CAIRO: The newly-formed Egyptian Insurance Brokers Association (EIBA) is concerned that the latest amendment to the insurance law will threaten the welfare of local brokers. The amendment is currently being discussed in parliament and includes provisions to reduce the stamp tax on insurance premiums and to allow foreign brokers to provide corporate insurance in Egypt. …

ATHENS: EFG Eurobank CEO Nikos Nanopoulos said on Thursday the bank was looking for other acquisitions in new countries beyond the Balkans and Turkey, and was eyeing Bank of Alexandria. The acquisition of Tekfenbank in Turkey complements and does not complete the ongoing growth strategy of Eurobank beyond the five countries where it is currently …

CAIRO: Executives from Vodafone Egypt discussed their plans and outlook for the market going forward at a meeting with journalists at their office in the Smart Village. Last year we invested over LE 1.7 billion in infrastructure to provide coverage, capacity and quality in our operations in this country, says Ian Grey, chief executive officer …

CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the pound rose to 8.350 percent on Wednesday from 8.275 percent on Tuesday but few banks traded because they were awaiting result of a central bank auction. The central bank was offering 56-day certificates worth LE 11 billion ($1.9 billion). The market is fairly liquid because everyone s …

KUWAIT: Aref Investment Group and Kuwait Gulf Link Transport Co. said on Tuesday they signed a deal to build and operate container docks at Egypt s Damietta port. The firms, in a statement posted on the bourse Web site, did not give the value of the deal, signed with Egypt s ministry of transport. But …

CAIRO: The home entertainment industry is in the throes of its most dynamic period of change, due to today’s “digitalization trend in homes of the future. Thanks to the currently heavily touted concept of digitalization bringing the notion that all home entertainment and consumer technology, from television, Internet and music to lighting and window shades …

CAIRO: Minister of International Cooperation Fayza Abul Naga signed agreements with China s Ambassador to Egypt Wu Sike yesterday to build a one-stop shop for investors in the industrial zone northwest of the Gulf of Suez as well as a school in 6th of October City. The Chinese government will contribute $10 million toward the …

CAIRO: Egypt-based investment bank EFG-Hermes said on Tuesday its net income rose five-fold to LE 208 million ($36.1 million) in the first quarter of 2006. The income figure was about in line with the lower expectations of analysts, who had predicted variously LE 200 million, LE 212 million and LE 300 million. It compares with …

CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the pound rose to 8.275 percent on Tuesday from 8.074 percent on Monday at the start of a new two-week period for calculating bank reserves. Bankers said most banks were more interested in auctions at the central bank, which is offering 7-day certificates worth LE 10 billion ($1.74 …

CAIRO: Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E. (OTH) announced on May 4 that it will file a request for arbitration against Kuwaiti operator Wataniya Telecom (WT) regarding a material breach of a shareholder s agreement between the two operators. According to a press release issued by OTH, the Egyptian mobile operator will commence arbitration to enforce its …

CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the Egyptian pound slipped to 8.075 percent on Monday from Sunday s 8.118 percent with demand for pounds low at the end of a period over which the central bank measures reserves. Bankers said they had met the central bank reserve requirement, which is measured over a two-week …

CAIRO: Egyptian stocks fell on Sunday as negative sentiment from plunging Gulf stock markets weighed on Egypt s bourse, hitting stocks popular with small investors and the housing and construction sectors hard, traders said. In the absence of foreign investors during Sunday trading, traders said local retail investors had sold in line with Gulf markets. …

CAIRO: In 2004, 99 countries, two thirds of those featured in the World Bank’s prominent Doing Business report measuring the relative ease or difficulty of doing business in countries, introduced 185 reforms to make doing business easier and Egypt was one of them. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private arm of the World Bank …

CAIRO: Egypt-based multinational Orascom Telecom (OT) said on Thursday it was asking the International Chamber of Commerce to arbitrate in its dispute with Kuwait s Wataniya Telecom over their joint venture mobile operation in Tunisia. OT said it wanted the chamber s International Court of Arbitration to enforce what it called OT s contractual right …

CAIRO: Eleven candidates have presented bids for Egypt s third mobile telephone network license, Telecommunications Minister Tarek Kamel said Thursday. Eleven European, African, Arab and Asian groups, along with domestic companies, participated in the bidding, Kamel was quoted by the official MENA news agency as saying. Telecom Egypt and Telecom Italia presented a joint bid, …

CAIRO: Egyptian stocks slipped slightly on Thursday as negative sentiment from falling Gulf stock markets weighed on Egypt s bourse, but positive news from Arabia Cotton Ginning helped minimize the fall, traders said. They said the firm had set up a holding company with a paid-in capital of $1 billion with a United Arab Emirates …

CAIRO: More tax revenues and economic reforms will help Egypt s government slash its budget deficit to 2 to 3 percent of gross domestic product in three to four years, the finance minister said on Wednesday. That compares to about 9.3 percent of GDP this year, Youssef Boutros-Ghali also told Reuters in an interview. He …

OSLO: Norway s largest telecoms group Telenor is not looking to expand into other African countries despite submitting a bid for a mobile license in Egypt, Chief Executive Jon Fredrik Baksaas said on Thursday. Many years ago we gave it a try for South Africa and we were not successful, Baksaas said at a presentation …

CAIRO: Alexandria Mineral Oils Co (AMOC) reported net profit of LE 509.2 million ($88.4 million) for the nine months to March 31, a rise of 28 percent on the same period a year earlier. The oil products company, in which the government sold a 20 percent stake last September, reported its results in a statement …

CAIRO: Egypt and Cyprus signed five cooperation deals on Thursday, including an agreement on oil and gas prospection, during Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos visit to Cairo. The accords, which also cover scientific research, electricity and cultural cooperation, were signed during a ceremony attended by Papadopoulos and Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, the official MENA news agency …

CAIRO: The paid television network Showtime recently launched three new packages in response to it s assessment of the regional market. The new packages are based on the company s market research and reflect the diversity of viewer demand for certain channels. Subscribers can select the most appropriate mix of channels based on their preferences …

CAIRO: Businesspeople looking for investment opportunities in Australia, trying to locate the most suitable Australian exporters, or simply exploring the option of doing business with the country, gathered together yesterday for a seminar at the Egyptian Businessmen Association (EBA). During the morning event, about 100 representatives of the country s different trade and industrial sectors …

CAIRO: Telecom Egypt (TE) and Telecom Italia will submit a joint bid for Egypt s third mobile license, TE officials said on Tuesday. Telecom Egypt announced an agreement with Telecom Italia to work together to take part in the tender for the third Egyptian mobile phone license, officials told official news agency MENA. The officials …

ATHENS: Greek oil company Hellenic Petroleum said on Tuesday it had won a tender to explore for natural gas and oil in Egypt. State-owned Egypt General Petroleum Corporation informed us that the West Obayed area has been awarded to Hellenic Petroleum as the operator, Greece s largest refiner said in a statement. Hellenic Petrolum said …

CAIRO: Egypt s biggest private bank, Commercial International Bank, increased its first-quarter net profit 31 percent to LE 187.56 million ($32.56 million), the bank reported on Wednesday. Net profit for the same three-month period last year was LE 142.91 million, CIB said in a newspaper announcement. Provisions fell to LE 39.73 million from LE 81 …

CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the pound rose to 8.35 percent on Wednesday from 8.255 percent on Tuesday with a central bank auction drawing some funds from the market, traders said. The auction for 35-day Central Bank of Egypt Notes worth LE 5.7 billion ($1 billion) is not covered by maturing funds. There …

CAIRO: Investments coming in from Egypt’s tourism industry are still booming despite the recent bombings in Dahab, according to Minister of Tourism Zoheir Garrana. In an interview on Tuesday with Reuter’s news agency, Garrana said that investors are still vying for investment opportunities in large-scale tourism projects in the country. While the minister conceded that …

CAIRO: The dramatic rise in global sugar prices in recent months has been a mixed blessing for Egypt. Sugar is one of a handful of food products supported by the government under its subsidies regime and the price rise has caused a budgetary predicament, prompting the government to reconsider its approach to food subsidies. Meanwhile, …