CAIRO: Housing stocks climbed on a mixed Egyptian bourse on Sunday, building on a rally in the sector since mid-March, traders said. Housing stocks have been boosted by expectations of expansion in the sector. Medinet Nasr Housing and Development climbed 11 percent, United Housing gained 5.7 percent and Shams Housing and Development added 6.3 percent. …

Head: Singapore s ST Telemedia, Qatar Tel partner for third license SINGAPORE: Singapore Technologies Telemedia (ST Telemedia), a leading information-communications company, and Qatar Telecom QSC (Qtel), one of the Middle East’s growing telecommunications companies, announced their joint venture to bid as a consortium for the third Public Land Mobile Network license in the Arab Republic …

CAIRO: Privatization has become a bad word, a fellow journalist told me recently. No one wants to be associated with it. This reflects the popular sentiment following the sale of Egyptian American Bank and the ongoing bid for Omar Effendi. The latter, with some 6,000 workers, is said to be worth more with its assets …

Head: EFG eyes Jordan, hopes for Saudi license in 2006 DUBAI: Egypt s EFG-Hermes Holdings is looking at Jordan as the next step in its regional expansion drive and hopes to win a Saudi investment banking license this year, a senior company official said. The Cairo-based investment bank already has operations in the Gulf Arab …

CAIRO: The shortage of properly trained staff is the most common complaint of industrial businesses. Policymakers and economists also cite the mismatch in the supply and demand for skills as one of the biggest challenges to the nation s economic growth. To address this issue, parliament passed a law in 2003 creating the National Fund …

CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the Egyptian pound fell to 8.45 percent on Thursday from 8.538 percent on Wednesday, toward the end of a central bank reserve period to measure banks reserves, traders said. The two-week period ends on Monday and a new one begins the following day. Banks try to meet their …

CAIRO: Investments in Egypt are skyrocketing, up 500 percent over last year, according to the minister of investment. During the 4th Economic roundtable meeting held in Egypt, Mahmoud Mohieddin, minister of investment, stated that investments in the petroleum sector amounted to $1.9 billion, and $2.5 billion in other sectors, at the mid-point of the 2005/06 …

ALEXANDRIA: One of the biggest gas producers operating in Egypt urged the government on Tuesday to raise domestic prices and ease access to higher value markets to attract capital for exploration. Stuart Fysh, regional executive vice president of British gas and oil company BG Group Plc, said that without revenue increases exploration capital could dwindle …

CAIRO: Committed to improving the state of the world, goes the motto of the World Economic Forum. As with most slogans, it s catchy yet vague and difficult to contend with. Nevertheless, this annual gathering of the world s most influential people in Davos, followed by a number of regional meetings, is not without its …

CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the Egyptian pound was 8.55 percent on Wednesday, little changed from Tuesday s 8.58 percent, with few banks dealing, bankers said. Four of nine banks contacted by Reuters dealt overnight at rates of 8.45 to 8.65 percent. Only one bank contacted on Tuesday had dealt overnight at 8.65 …

CAIRO: In yet another fresh round of bids, Telenor, a Norwegian mobile operator, and the National Telecommunications Holding Corporation (NTC), announced yesterday during a press conference that they are partnering up to bid for the third mobile license. “The partnership with NTC reflects our determination to establish an operation that will benefit from local expertise, …

CAIRO: Intel signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday with four universities covering wireless technology, entrepreneurship and academic forums. The world s largest microchip manufacturer selected three public universities (Cairo, Alexandria and Ain Shams) and the American University of Cairo after evaluating a number of educational institutions in Egypt. The universities join some 150 others …

CAIRO: The government has been clear about the objective of its economic agenda: to reduce the dominance of the government in the economic process and increase the role of the private sector. This transition is not without opposition and the change may be painful to many involved. Ania Thiemann, the Economist Intelligence Unit s recently-appointed …

CAIRO: In order to attract Italian investments in Egypt, the General Authority for Investments and Free Zones (GAFI), in partnership with the United Nations industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), will hold a Textile, Leather and Agro-business Forum in Italy, from April 5-7, 2006. The objective of this third annual Forum, which will be held in Rome …

CAIRO: The fourth Business Roundtable with the Egyptian government, a turnkey event attended by the country’s government and business leaders, took place yesterday. An intensely interactive day of discussions and debates on government policy and future plans for business, the roundtable is a strategic event at which the Egyptian government presents and try’s to convince …

CAIRO: Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif announced yesterday that a long-anticipated law for special economic courts will be sent to parliament in two weeks. Speaking at the fourth annual Economist Conference, Nazif says that the law has been prepared and is being reviewed by the cabinet. The law will create separate courts for settling commercial disputes. …

CAIRO: Jockeying is getting underway ahead of the planned privatization this summer of Bank of Alexandria (BOA), the country s first large, publicly owned lender to go on the block. The sale is part of a government strategy to consolidate and streamline the banking sector, still dominated by state-owned institutions, so as to spur competition …

CAIRO: Egypt and Turkey signed a free trade agreement last December, which follows years of negotiations resulting in a series of product lists and tariff reduction timetables. Emre Öztelli, commercial counselor at the Turkish Embassy, provides insight into the negotiation process and helps put the agreement into perspective with long-term trade developments in an interview …

CAIRO: At the end of a three-day visit to Egypt, the Chairman of Singapore s Tolaram Group and Minister of Trade and Industry, Lim Hng Kiang, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Egypt, agreeing to establish two factories; one here and one in Singapore, to produce methanol. Using the much sought after Egyptian …

CAIRO: Minister of Housing Ahmed Al-Maghraby says that the government is considering involving the private sector in water projects, following its positive experience with privately-owned power generation plants. A number of private electricity plants have been built since parliament passed a law allowing such concessions in the late 1990s. Sidi Krir Power Plant began operations …

CAIRO: There is a by-product to the nation s beef consumption. The conversion of animal skin into leather products has created a community of artisans and an industry for clothing apparel. International leather consultant Maher Abou El-Khair explains the roots of the industry in Egypt. The production of leather products initially developed through interaction with …

CAIRO: A rally in EFG-Hermes Holdings and Telecom Egypt helped the stock market edge higher on Wednesday, brokers said. The benchmark Hermes index climbed 401.94 points, or 0.7 percent, to 58,345.66 points. The broader CIBC index ended broadly level at 230.50 points. The Case 30 index rose 33.32 points, or 0.5 percent, to 6,834.56 points. …

CAIRO: Picking up where President Hosni Mubarak left off, Minister of Investment, Dr. Mahmoud Moheiddin, continued his whirlwind tour of the Gulf, with stops in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The minister’s tour of the United Arab Emirates, starting with Abu Dhabi and ending in Dubai, because of interest expressed by the region in the country’s …

CAIRO: Non-dairy processed food was a LE 3 billion industry last year, with most of this production coming in the form of jams, concentrates, pickles, sugar, sauces and frozen and dried vegetables. Egypt s ample arable land, much of which is unused, provides opportunities for growth in the food sector, while global health-scares and the …

CAIRO: Egypt’s national plan to build and develop the petrochemical industry in the country recently registered a hit with the start of a $1 billion investment for two large petrochemical projects, both being funded by the Egyptian private sector and Canada. The projects will produce a cumulative 1.65 million tons of methanol and polypropylene. The …

CAIRO: Hutchison Telecommunications International will seek the Israeli government s consent for Orascom Telecom to increase its stake in Partner Communications above 10 percent, according to Israeli business daily Globes. Through its acquisition of 19.3 percent of Hutchison last December, Orascom became the ultimate owner of 9.99 percent of Partner, an Israeli mobile operator with …

CAIRO: Housing sector stocks, boosted by expected expansion in the sector, helped the bourse to a higher close on Sunday. Orascom Telecom, which is due to release its 2005 results on Monday, also climbed, along with EFG-Hermes. The benchmark Hermes index rose 803.81 points, or 1.4 percent, to 58,323.90 points. The broader CIBC index climbed …

CAIRO: Seeking to reduce its dependency on Russia, Bulgaria may start importing gas from Egypt via Turkey, according to the ministry of investment. The announcement was made after Bulgarian Economy and Energy Minister, Rumen Ovcharov, met with his Turkish counterpart, Hilmi Guler, according to the Egyptian ministry. During the meeting, a number of key issues …

CAIRO: After weeks of refusing to comment on the controversy surrounding the sale of Omar Effendi, Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieddin finally broke his silence in a meeting with journalists. The minister was visibly disturbed by the accusations against him in the press, which included some personal attacks by journalists. He defended his role in …

CAIRO: Egypt s benchmark Hermes index ticked up on Thursday as foreign institutional investors bought big-cap stocks that have fallen in previous sessions to levels considered cheap, traders said. The benchmark Hermes index gained 137.91 points, or 0.2 percent, to end at 57,520.09 points but the broader CIBC index ended down 0.39 points, or 0.2 …