CAIRO: A leading poultry producer says that it has not sold a single baby chick since the outbreak of avian flu in the country 11 days ago. Wadi Holdings breeds and sells day-old chicks to farmers. It also sells chicken feed and poultry-related products make up the majority of its revenues. The company controls 45 …

CAIRO: Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieddin announced last Monday that the employees of Omar Effendi, Egypt’s largest state-owned department store chain, with more than 80 outlets, will retain their company benefits after the company is sold as part of the government’s asset management program to privatize retail department stores. In a meeting with the Minister …

CAIRO: Egypt has set up a joint venture shipping company to transport gas and is ordering a new ship that is planned to enter operation by the end of 2007, a senior Egyptian official said on Tuesday. “We are in the process to acquire the ship … We will be having the ship operated, God …

CAIRO: Minister of Finance Youssef Boutros-Ghali announced that the government has earmarked LE 1 billion for non-performing loans of small and medium sized businesses. Speaking at a meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, Boutros-Ghali says that his ministry, in coordination with the central bank and the Ministry of Trade and Industry, are …

CAIRO: Lebanese bank BLOM plans to double the number of branches at its newly acquired Egyptian operation to 16 in 2006, part of a plan to expand the retail business, a senior executive said on Tuesday. BLOM, Lebanon s biggest bank, bought Egypt s Misr Romanian Bank in a deal worth about $97.8 million in …

CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the Egyptian pound edged up in quiet trade to 8.4 percent on Tuesday from Monday s average of 8.318 percent as traders awaited the result of a central bank auction of 7-day notes, dealers said. The central bank offered notes worth LE 7.1 billion ($1.2 billion). Traders said …

CAIRO: For the simple reason that they are young, many men and women are not taken seriously in their careers. Yasmine Shihata, the editor and co-founder of Enigma magazine, has more than one story to illustrate that point, but she also credits her young age – early twenties – for preparing her to take more …

ALGIERS: Egypt-based Orascom Telecom (OT) and Telecom Egypt will start operating Algeria s second fixed-line telephone network this week, officials said on Monday. State-owned Algerie Telecom, currently the sole fixed-line operator with some 3.2 million subscribers, is struggling to meet rising demand in the North African country of 33 million. OT, which already operates the …

CAIRO: The Egyptian government said on Tuesday it was offering 17 percent of Egypt Aluminum at a minimum of LE 54 ($9.42) a share, giving the company a value of at least LE 6.75 billion. The offer is split into 8.75 million shares, or 7 percent of the company, by public subscription, and 12.5 million …

CAIRO: As panic spreads about the arrival of bird flu, Egyptian poultry companies are scrambling to deal with the crisis. The poultry business was already affected prior to the government s announcement of the first cases of the virus last week. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, consumption of poultry had declined by 60 percent …

CAIRO: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, ahead of her four-day diplomatic tour to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, said now is not the time for the United States to negotiate a free trade agreement with Egypt. Rice was quick to add, however, that the decision is in no way meant to …

CAIRO: Shares in Ezz Steel Rebars climbed more than 5 percent on Monday, helping boost the Egyptian bourse overall with news that the company planned to increase its stake in another steel firm, traders said. Ezz Steel is planning to raise its holding in Alexandria Iron and Steel to 50.86 percent from 21.48 percent, via …

CAIRO: Following a meeting held between World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz and Egyptian Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, Wolfowitz announced that the bank will continue supporting Egypt’s reform programs. In the meeting both men discussed economic reform in Egypt and gender issues, in addition to reviewing ongoing cooperative projects between the country and the bank, …

ALEXANDRIA: The Confederation of Egyptian European Business Associations (CEBA) formed a division in Alexandria at an inauguration ceremony there on Saturday. CEBA was formed in 2004 by the British, French, German and Italian Egyptian bilateral business associations. The confederation s office in Alexandria will be its first division outside of Cairo. The division will support …

CAIRO: Minister of Electricity and Energy Hassan Younes announced that seven international companies have just bid to manufacture local components for the solar energy stations of the Kuraymat Integrated Solar Combined Cycle Power Plant Project, a project created by the ministry to develop the new and renewable energy sector and the first of its kind …

CAIRO: The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), an agency of the United States government that supports American private sector investment in the developing world, is in the process of establishing a $225 million private equity fund for the Middle East and North Africa region. The head of the agency is also in Cairo to explore …

TOSHKA, Egypt: The organic tomatoes are red and juicy, the potatoes massive and flawless. But they are sitting by the roadside in the Western Desert, 250 km (150 miles) from the nearest large town and thousands of kilometers from the European supermarkets where in mid-winter they could fetch premium prices. They are some of the …

CAIRO: Egypt s Alexandria Mineral Oils Co (AMOC) reported net profit of LE 331.8 million ($57.9 million) for the six months to Dec. 31, 2005, a rise of 68 percent on the same period a year earlier. The oil products company, in which the government sold a 20 percent stake in September, reported its results …

CAIRO: Egypt s National Societe Generale Bank (NSGB) said on Thursday its net profit for 2005 doubled to LE 493.4 million ($86.1 million) as net interest income climbed and provisions for bad loans fell. NSGB, which is 78 percent owned by France s Societe Generale, reported net profit of LE 247.3 million in 2004. Much …

CAIRO: Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) said on Wednesday it was offering existing shareholders 11.5 million new shares at a price of LE 201 ($35.08) per share. The offer works out at about one share for every 16.57 existing shares and will bring the total number of OCI shares issued to 202.075 million. The company will …

CAIRO: In the aftermath of a progressive government and a growing economy, Egypt is witnessing the entrance of a slew of multinationals and local businesses with a modern outlook, to the delight of the public relations industry (PR). The Daily Star Egypt sat down with Loula Zaklama, the founder of PR in Egypt, to talk …

CAIRO: The software industry in Egypt has been on the rise since the establishment of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in 1999. While the country has long been a center for Arabization and localization of software for the region, the liberalization of telecommunications, along with e-government initiatives, have stimulated information technology (IT) and …

CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the pound rose to 8.45 percent on Tuesday from Monday s 8.365 percent with pound demand stronger at the start of a new central bank reserve ratio period, bankers said. Four of seven banks contacted by Reuters had dealt overnight at rates of between 8.3 to 8.65 percent. …

CAIRO: Big Egyptian stocks recovered some of their recent losses on Tuesday, led upwards by investment bank EFG-Hermes and Orascom Construction Industries, which announced it had a stake in a large wastewater project in the Gulf emirate of Ajman. EFG-Hermes, which peaked at LE 285 ($49.74) in late January, gained 5.4 percent to last trade …

CAIRO: Homeopaths in Egypt not only meet patients, diagnose them and prescribe remedies, but they also face a struggle for recognition and fight a battle to acquire the legal status their counterparts abroad enjoy. With a great deal of passion for her job, along with strong convictions about the effect of homeopathy, Nazli Shafik is …

CAIRO: Small investors panicked by falling Egyptian stock prices pulled the market lower still on Monday in a bout of selling, traders said. “A lot of the prices are being broken too easily. There are no support levels, Yasser Hassanein of Dynamic Securities said. The benchmark Hermes index dipped 2,160.97 points, or 3.3 percent, to …

CAIRO: Egypt will sell 20 percent of Bank of Alexandria on the stock exchange, 5 percent to employees and the rest to a strategic investor, the bank s head said in remarks published on Sunday. Mahmoud Abd Ellatif, Bank of Alexandria chairman, told Al Alam Al Youm newspaper, large investors would within two weeks be …

CAIRO: Textiles, garments and cotton cultivation employ a substantial portion of the Egyptian labor force. These sectors have benefited substantially from the Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZ) protocol under which Egyptian goods with a minimum level of inputs from Israel are allowed tariff-free access to the United States. It stands to gain further from last December …

CAIRO: Thirty envoys from the European Union concluded a two-day tour of the Toshka Project. The envoys, representing a range of countries, from Russia to Japan, were invited to tour the project courtesy of the Holding Trade Company in cooperation with the Egyptian Business Counsel, the Minster of Investment and the Chairman of the Egyptian …

CAIRO: BMW announced this week that it will add a new model to the two that are currently assembled in Egypt. The company also released its sales figures for 2005, during which it achieved a 69 percent growth in local sales compared to the previous year. BMW through its local partner Bavarian Auto Group (BAG) …