CAIRO: Transparency and governance of corporations are increasingly important issues as public participation in capital markets grows. The popularity of the stock market was clearly demonstrated with several of last year s privatization offerings, including Telecom Egypt, for which numerous individuals put aside their savings to purchase shares. Furthermore, as local companies turn to foreign …

CAIRO: A delegation of Chinese investors will visit Alexandria today to discuss bilateral business opportunities between China and Alexandria with potential local business partners. According to the chairman of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce, Mostafa El Naggar, the group will discuss the possibility of establishing joint trade fairs for both Chinese and Egyptian businesses in …

CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the Egyptian pound was broadly unchanged on Sunday at 8.65 percent compared to 8.631 percent on Thursday with no new factors affecting liquidity, traders said. Demand was also quiet in the middle of a two-week central bank period to calculate banks reserves, the traders added. The market is …

CAIRO: The German group BERICAP inaugurated its new cap factory in Egypt yesterday. The group is a leading international manufacturer of plastic caps for a wide range of containers, including those for food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. It has production facilities in 16 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, China and Turkey. …

CAIRO: According to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, international investors are eyeing the Egyptian textile industry. The ministry stated that it is developing and aiding in the growth of textile companies in order to meet the demands of European importers and global markets. “A number of initiatives and programs have already begun to assist …

CAIRO: State carrier EgyptAir, 20 percent of which the government is preparing to sell, made a profit of LE 431 million ($75.2 million) last financial year, the chairman of the company said on Friday. Atef Abdel Hamid, chairman of EgyptAir Holding Company, said the sale of the 20 percent stake would not take place until …

CAIRO: Egypt will not begin studies on a second fixed-line telephone operator until mid-2008, Communications Minister Tarek Kamel said on Thursday. Kamel said prices for local calls should be reviewed before a second operator is considered. The study of the existence of a second land line operator will not happen until mid-2008, the state news …

CAIRO: With the demise of an immediate free trade agreement between Egypt and the United States, the time has come to shed light on other priorities of the trade and industrial development agenda. Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZ), which were expected to be eventually made redundant by comprehensive free trade with the U.S., have now become …

CAIRO: The Egyptian ministry of communication and information technology (MCIT) has praised the partnership between the government and private sector, stating that it has proven to be a successful formula for the implementation of a number of communication information technology (CIT) projects. We are always concerned to strengthen our relations with the business community and …

CAIRO: A massive investigation is underway after an armed robbery that took place last Friday at Aramex International Egypt’s Maghrabi offices ended in the murder of a security guard and a loss of approximately LE 1.5 million in stolen cash. According to a highly placed executive at the company, the robbery took place at around …

CAIRO: The Egypt Tourism Workforce Development Program celebrated the graduation of 119 hotel and restaurant professionals on Tuesday. The program, which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development, is in its second phase. The first phase provided training for approximately 10,000 workers in the tourism industry. The second phase started in October …

CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the Egyptian pound was 8.5 percent on Wednesday, little changed from Tuesday s 8.534 percent, as bankers awaited the result of a central bank note auction. The central bank was auctioning LE 7 billion ($1.2 billion) of 42-day notes. We don t see a lot of action (in …

CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak said in remarks published on Wednesday he expected his country s foreign exchange reserves to keep climbing. The Egyptian central bank s foreign reserves grew 33.6 percent in the year to January to $22.13 billion. I want the central bank to have $100 billion, and this hope is not far away …

DUBAI: Kuwait s Global Investment House will increase its investment and advisory work in Egypt, which had one of the world s best performing stock markets last year, a senior company official said. Shailesh Dash, senior vice president and head of strategic investment at Global, told Reuters the firm was looking to open an office …

CAIRO: The Egyptian government said on Tuesday it would announce an offering of 75 to 80 percent of Bank of Alexandria to a large investor by the end of March and then offer a further 15 to 20 percent of the bank to the public. The government said in a statement in Al-Ahram newspaper that …

CAIRO: Calyon Bank Egypt, which is 75 percent owned by French investment bank Calyon, made a net profit of LE 60.5 million ($10.6 million) in 2005, 63 percent up on 2004, the stock exchange said on Tuesday. Calyon is a subsidiary of Credit Agricole. Calyon Egypt s net profit in 2004 was LE 37.1 million. …

CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the Egyptian pound fell to 8.5 percent at a start on Tuesday of a new two-week period for calculating reserves, from 8.842 percent on Monday. Bankers said most dealers had their eyes on an auction of 7-day central bank notes worth LE 4 billion ($670 million), to see …

CAIRO: Alexandria Iron and Steel helped the Egyptian stock exchange up on Tuesday on continuing interest in Ezz Steel Rebar s plan to increase its stake in the company, brokers said. Alexandria Iron and Steel shares rose LE 175.29 ($30.59) or 11.7 percent to last trade at an all-time high of 1,670. Ezz said earlier …

CAIRO: Misr International Bank (MIBank) has arranged a syndicated loan worth $254.5 million for Misr Oil Processing Company (MOPCO) to build a new fertilizer plant, MIBank officials said on Tuesday. The export-only plant is to be based in Damietta on Egypt s Mediterranean coast, and will have the capacity to produce 635,000 tons of urea …

CAIRO: Protecting intellectual property is an intricate challenge. In the world of copyrights and patents, stealing is not a direct physical action involving an object or an individual; it is a simple, unobtrusive process in which, with the push of a button, zeros and ones are transferred and within moments the culprit has the latest …

CAIRO: Following frequent visits to a friend’s flower shop, Sally El Torgoman decided to take on this friend’s offer and combined her interest in art and her background in sales and public relations into a partnership in a small scale flower business. El Torgoman, who used to help her friends furnish their houses as a …

CAIRO: The 2006 World Economic Forum (WEF) will be hosted this year by Egypt from May 20-22 in Sharm El-Sheikh, the country’s red sea tourist attraction. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the WEF decision to come to Egypt “reflects the forum s recognition of Egypt s long-standing commitment …

CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the Egyptian pound rose slightly to 8.65 percent on Monday from Sunday s 8.64 percent in active trade on the final day of the central bank reserve period, bankers said. The central bank measures banks reserves over a two-week period ending on Monday. A new period begins on …

CAIRO: The Egyptian furniture industry will take part in The Hotel Show 2006 for the first time this year as part of a government plan to get the industry to showcase its ability to take part in the increasingly profitable regional market. As the regional hospitality industry s meeting place, The Hotel Show will take …

CAIRO: Al-Ahram Beverages Co. (ABC), which changed hands twice in the past decade, is now firmly in Heineken s hands. The company was nationalized in 1963 then privatized in 1997. For five years thereafter, it was headed by Ahmed El-Zayat, who turned around the company, bought out competitors and introduced several new brands including I.D. …

CAIRO: Having recently acquired Misr Romanian Bank, executives from Lebanon s BLOM Bank visited Cairo this week and outlined their strategy for Egypt. BLOM is Lebanon s largest bank with total assets of $11.2 billion. It has branches in Jordan, Cyprus and Syria and and with its acquisition of Misr Romanian Bank, also in Egypt …

LONDON: Canadian-based Centurion Energy International Inc. said on Wednesday it had bought a private U.S. firm with oil and gas operations in Egypt and Texas for $225 million. Centurion, which is listed in Toronto and on London s junior Alternative Investment Market (AIM), said the acquisition would add 8,200 barrels of oil equivalent per day …

ALGIERS: Orascom Telecom (OT) will eye more acquisitions including a bid for Greek firm TIM Hellas after the initial public offering of its Weather Investment later this year, its chairman said on Wednesday. Naguib Sawiris told Reuters in an interview the firm had won a $2 billion loan to consolidate existing debt and finance its …

CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the Egyptian pound rose to 8.6125 percent on Thursday from 8.55 percent on Wednesday after central bank auctions drained liquidity from the market, traders said. “Most of the banks are bidding aggressively in the central bank auctions so it s a little bit short, one trader said. The …

CAIRO: Egypt is preparing to offer 20 percent of state-owned airline EgyptAir to the public, in the latest big-ticket privatization in the government s drive to sell off state assets. “The shares will be offered as soon as the study is complete, Civil Aviation Minister Ahmed Shafiq said, in comments reported by the official Middle …