CAIRO: Egyptian food group Mo’men said it has completed the first phase of its plan to list on the Egyptian Stock Exchange after a two-year engagement with Actis, a private equity investor in emerging markets. In a press statement, Mohamed Mo’men, the group chairman, said, “Actis has been a catalyst for constructive change in Mo’men …

CAIRO: Egypt s main index slid 1.6 percent, dragged down by heavyweight Orascom Telecom (OT), which fell a second day after Algerian sources said the government wanted the firm to relinquish its Algerian unit. Big caps lead the weakness, namely the Orascoms, said Omar Darwish of CIBC brokerage. Orascom Telecom lost 2.2 percent, Orascom Construction …

CAIRO: Egypt denied Thursday news reports that it was in talks with Israel about possibly establishing a joint solar project in the Sinai Desert. Ministry of Energy spokesperson Aktham Aboul Ela refuted reports claiming that Egypt and Israel were planning to set up a joint project to generate and export energy, according to a statement …

CAIRO: Egypt will sign a deal this week with Abu Dhabi s Masdar to build a 200 megawatt wind farm, as part of a plan to generate 20 percent of the country s energy needs from renewable sources by 2020, an official said on Wednesday. Egypt, an oil and gas producer, has been developing wind …

ALGIERS: The Algerian government wants Egyptian group Orascom Telecom to relinquish ownership of Algeria s No. 1 mobile phone operator, government and finance industry sources said. We don t want Orascom any more, said a senior government official with direct knowledge of the Orascom Telecom issue who asked not to be named. The government considers …

CAIRO: Twenty-two percent of Egyptian employers say they will definitely hire new employees in the next three months and 29 percent say they will probably do so, according to a recent survey. Conducted by Bayt.com and YouGov Siraj, the study found that in the longer run, 29 percent of surveyed companies in Egypt will certainly …

DUBAI: Middle East fourth-quarter gold demand fell 32 percent on the year as jewelry sales continued to feel the impact of high prices and the global economic downturn, the World Gold Council said on Wednesday. jewelry demand makes up the bulk of gold consumption in the Middle East, leaving gold sales more sensitive to consumer …

CAIRO: Mobile banking will take off quickly in Egypt by bringing services closer to those who don’t normally have access to banks, Philippe Joannier, head of territory and managing director of BNP Paribas Egypt, said Monday. It will be a “real public service, he told Daily News Egypt on the sidelines of the Economist’s Seventh …

CAIRO: Egypt’s main index closed 0.6 percent up, driven by construction and real estate and high investor expectations for corporate earnings. Sixth of October Development gained 2.6 percent. Egyptian Resorts rose 2.5 percent and Nasr City Housing inched up 1.7 percent. “This is a time for small-denominated stocks, and Upper Egypt and Egyptian Resorts both …

SHARM EL-SHEIKH: Egypt, the world s top wheat importer, said on Monday it was evaluating three options for growing wheat in Uganda in a bid to safeguard its supply of the staple. The most populous Arab country had said it wanted to set up farms in Nile Basin countries in order to protect its water …

Egypt index up, helped by solid results The Egyptian index benchmark inched up 0.2 percent to end at 7,019 points, helped by firms like Egypt Kuwait Holding Co. which announced improved profits. Shares in Egypt Kuwait Holding jump 5.2 percent after the company released better-than-expected 2009 figures. The market will curve higher … after the …

CAIRO: Already the Middle East and North Africa (MENA’s) largest pharmaceutical producer, Egypt is looking to further solidify its stronghold by increasing investment in the sector and expanding production capacity. Much of the extra medicine will go to foreign markets, despite a potential health crisis at home as the government introduces a new drug-pricing regime. …

CAIRO: “Egypt plans to double exports in the next four years from LE 92 billion to LE 200 billion, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said at the Seventh Business Roundtable with the Egyptian government organized by the Economist. Nazif also said that there will be more PPPs and opportunities for the private sector to invest in …

CAIRO: Intel’s operations in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa have one of the highest numbers of women in senior management, said Aysegül Íldeniz, Regional Director for META. “I have been extremely lucky with this [work] environment. I have had always incredibly supportive managers. They gave me bigger and better opportunities early on and the …

CAIRO: The Seventh Business Roundtable with the Egyptian government opens in Cairo today, with a high profile list of attendees expected to probe the prognosis of Egypt’s growth for 2010-2011, the effects of the slow global recovery on the MENA region and competitiveness in attracting foreign investments. The event organized by the Economist Group will …

CAIRO: Egyptian mobile operator Mobinil posted net profit of LE 581 million ($106 million) in the fourth quarter, up 5.4 percent on a year earlier and above the average forecast in a Reuters poll. The company, which leads Egypt s competitive mobile market, said on Wednesday it had a total of 25.35 million subscribers by …

CAIRO: Egypt s economy, buoyed by climbing exports, should grow by 5.5 percent in fiscal 2010/11 and attract $10 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) as it recovers from the global economic crisis, a minister said. The growth forecast matches the consensus of 15 independent economists polled by Reuters last month and is stronger than …

Kabo 6-month net loss at LE 2.6 mln Egyptian garment maker El Nasr Clothing & Textile Co. (Kabo) reported a net loss of LE 2.6 million ($473,800) for the six months to end-December, the stock exchange said on Thursday. The firm made a net profit of LE 12.1 million in the same period in 2008, …

LONDON: Oil fell by more than $1 to near $74 a barrel on Friday after the outlook for energy demand was dented by China s surprise decision to tighten monetary policy for the second time this year. China s central bank on Friday said it was raising banks reserve requirements from the end of this …

DUBAI: Lloyds Banking Group Plc s private banking arm expects to expand its Middle Eastern business quickly as it considers opening new branches and looks to add staff, the divisional head told Reuters on Thursday. The Gulf Arab region, with Dubai as its financial center, continues to draw interest from international private banks hoping to …

CAIRO: Egyptian mobile operator Mobinil expects revenue growth to slow to 5 percent in 2010 and to boost its subscribers to 28 million by the end of the year, its chief financial officer said on Thursday. Mobinil, which leads Egypt s competitive mobile market by number of subscribers, said on Wednesday it had 25.35 million …

CAIRO: ConnectmeTV, a new media hub and service designed for both the masses and high-end Egyptian market, launched Tuesday at the 14th annual Cairo ICT. A panel of media experts discussed the new product’s applications and contextualized it within the environment of Egyptian media. Defined as “a media hub that acts as a hi-definition satellite …

CAIRO: Hungary’s Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai met with Egypt’s Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid as part of a joint business forum this week, the ministry said in a statement. During the forum, more than 100 members of the business communities from both nations heard plans on expanding bilateral trade and investment. “The …

CAIRO: Egypt s gross domestic product increased by an annualized 5.1 percent in the three months to end-December, led by technology, construction and hotels and restaurants, the cabinet said on Wednesday. The economy grew 4.9 percent in the previous quarter while in fiscal 2008/09, which ended in June, it grew 4.7 percent. The Oct-Dec quarter …

Buffett s Dairy Queen to expand into Egypt, Macau International Dairy Queen, the ice cream retailer owned by Warren Buffett s Berkshire Hathaway Inc, said on Tuesday that it planned in 2010 to open its first stores in Egypt and Macau. Dairy Queen said Egyptian-run Boraie Development would open the first DQ Grill & Chill …

CAIRO: Egypt wants to add new names to a UN-approved list of firms with certified carbon offset credits to trade and is offering soft loans and other incentives to encourage polluters to clean up, top environment officials said. Egypt is only a small player in Kyoto Protocol s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) that allows carbon …

CAIRO: Didier Lombard, CEO and Chairman of France Telecom (FT) since 2005, acceded to pressure and will step down a year ahead of schedule. In a public statement, France Telecom said, Didier Lombard, France Telecom chief executive, has decided to propose to the company s board meeting on February 24 to separate the jobs of …

CAIRO: Egypt’s urban annual consumer price inflation climbed to 13.6 percent in the year to January, at the top end of analysts’ expectations, state statistics agency figures indicated on Wednesday. Annual inflation in December was 13.3 percent, the figures showed. Eight analysts had forecast urban inflation – the most closely watched indicator of prices – …

CAIRO: Late selling put pressure on Orascom Construction Industries (OCI), wiping out most of its early gains on Egypt’s benchmark index, which closed 0.2 percent lower. The stock extended losses for the second day, falling 2.8 percent to LE 254. It had traded as high as LE 264.5. “The session began on a positive note …