CAIRO: As a means to expand the postal infrastructure in Egypt, the Egyptian National Post Organization (ENPO) announced the establishment of the first integrated pan-Arab post network under the auspices of the Arab Telecommunications and Information Council of Ministers. The postal network is expected to act as an umbrella under which Arab postal organizations cooperate …

CAIRO: The American University in Cairo (AUC) announced Sunday the appointment of Dr Ziad Ahmed Bahaa-Eldin as a member of its Board of Trustees, the university said in a statement. Bahaa-Eldin, the former chairman of the Egyptian General Authority for Investment and Free Zone (GAFI), is a legal advisor and member of the board of …

Central Bank raises interest rate to 10.5 pct The Central Bank of Egypt increased its overnight deposit rate by half a percentage point to 10.5 percent after inflation accelerated to its fastest pace in a decade. The overnight lending rate was raised by the same amount and is now 12.5 percent, the central bank said …

NEW YORK: Oil futures climbed briefly to a new record above $142 a barrel Friday on expectations that the weakening dollar, a major factor in crude s stratospheric rise, will extend its decline and add to oil s appeal. Light, sweet crude for August delivery rose as high as $142.26 a barrel in pre-market electronic …

LONDON: Richard Lambert, director of the Confederation of British Industries, stood before an assembly of businesspeople and journalists in this city’s spiraling, hypermodern City Hall last week and opened his talk on carbon emissions with a bludgeon of a fact. “Oil was $136 dollars per barrel this morning, he said. That is, roughly double what …

CAIRO: Preparing for the entry of a second fixed-line operator next year, the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) approved price changes to telephone calls and installation fees. Telecom Egypt slashed fees for installing new lines and for calls between landlines and mobile phones while increasing some charges for telephone calls on landlines by almost 50 …

CAIRO: Want to register your company? Egypt will take you by the hand and help start up your project in two days. Not only that, you will also be provided with after-establishment services to ensure the investment is worthwhile – at least that is what the General Authority for Investment and Free Zone (GAFI) vows …

CAIRO: Egypt unexpectedly cancelled Wednesday the auction of state-owned Banque du Caire, saying the bids submitted by foreign banks did not meet the reserve price. “The auction did not reach the price set by the evaluating committee, Mohamed Barakat, chairman of Banque du Caire and sister state-owned bank Banque Misr, announced Wednesday. “The intention to …

CAIRO: Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) launched the first of its “home away from home hotel facilities in the Middle East and Africa this week, with the opening of its StayBridge residential suites at the company’s five-star hotel in Heliopolis. The 140 suites under the StayBridge brand are luxury apartments, some with one, two or three …

CAIRO: The Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Egypt (CanCham) vowed to continue to bolster relations between Egypt and Canada, during a celebration of their second anniversary of operations in Egypt. Trade and investment between Egypt and Canada is expanding; according to 2004 statistics it reached $310 million. Last year, Egyptian exports reached a record high …

CAIRO: Five regional and international banking players have lined up Tuesday for the bidding on Banque Du Caire amid expectations the sale could generate up to $2 billion, officials said. According to Mohamed Barakat, chairman of the Technical Committee for the execution of the sale of Banque du Caire, the sale of the bank would …

National Bank of Kuwait, Zain Co. announce launch of services in Egypt to Al Watany Bank In a press conference, The National Bank of Kuwait and Zain Co. extended services to branches of Al Watany Branch throughout Egypt, with the purpose of aiding Kuwaiti investors and companies in Egypt, reported AME info. Zain is a …

FRANKFURT, Germany: The 15-nation euro rose Tuesday against the US dollar despite more discouraging economic news from Germany, Europe s largest economy. In afternoon European trading the euro bought $1.5615, up from $1.5499 the night before in New York. The British pound strengthened to $1.9705 from $1.9599 late Monday, while the dollar lost some ground …

CAIRO: Wimax technology is the pathway to the next generation of connectivity in Egypt, Amr Badawi, executive president of the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) said at the opening of the Second Annual Wimax MEA Summit on Monday. Taking advantage of the region’s growth and Egypt’s low broadband penetration, Wimax seems to be the solution …

CAIRO: News leaked Monday that Egypt’s Ministry of Transport plans to hike ticket fares for first-class railway vehicles and metro lines by 25 percent beginning July 1. According to local reports, starting July 1 the ministry will raise prices of railway tickets for first and second-class air-conditioned vehicles to reach LE 140 for first-class tickets …

CAIRO: “I didn’t resign because of the anti-monopoly law and we [the government] respect parliament’s decision regarding the matter, Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid, said in a press conference Saturday. Last week, several MPs hinted that Rachid had resigned from his post and had not attended the parliamentary sessions debating amendments to …

The Sleepy Fayoum oasis is about to undergo some major change. Last week at Al-Azhar Park, Egypt’s tourism development powerhouse Orascom Development Holding (ODH) launched its latest project: Byoum Residence, the first luxury real estate complex in Fayoum. Byoum Residence covers 103 feddans and is situated along Lake Qarun. It will boast 142 villas, a …

CAIRO: What brings a 206-year-old company best known as the world’s second largest chemical company to a construction trade fair? “We go where the growth is, Khaled El-Dessouky, DuPont’s manager for Egypt, by way of explanation as the 15th Inter Build conference opened this week. And growth is something this sector is not short on: …

CAIRO: The annual Inter Build construction trade show has been coming to Egypt for a decade and a half now, but its last few visits have been the rosiest. As Egypt has drawn more and more foreign investment over the past five years, the construction and housing sectors have been among the main beneficiaries, maintaining …

CAIRO: A recent poll showed that 37 percent of Egyptians working in the public sector or those who have retired prefer to have the government increase their income by raising their salary or pension rather than offer them subsidies. A total of 1,069 families were polled to gauge their preferences for ways to raise their …

CAIRO: After amending Egypt’s Capital Market Law early this month to impose harsher penalties on violations of trading rules or disclosure of information, parliament is mulling over equating insider trading infringements with money laundry crimes. The People’s Assembly approved June 3 amendments proposed by the Capital Market Authority (CMA) to law 95 of 1995, which …

DUBAI: Aramex recently unveiled a new corporate image “designed to catch up to the rapid growth of the company from a regional transportation solutions provider into a major player in the global logistics marketplace, according to a statement to the press. The updated look marks the biggest change in the company’s visual identity to date, …

CAIRO: After long and heated discussions, the People’s Assembly ratified Tuesday the property tax law with an exemption threshold of LE 500,000 and a levy at 10 percent of a property’s annual rental value. According to Minister of Finance Youssef Botrous Ghali, since the new law will only apply to the 2.1 percent of Egyptians …

CAIRO: The Software Engineering Competence Center (SECC) signed a cooperation agreement with the European Software Institute ESI-Tecnalia to exchange the latest software development technologies, according to a statement from the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MCIT). ESI-Tecnalia – a private technological center and a non-profit foundation created in 1993 by the European Commission with …

DUBAI: Students from four Egyptian schools were ranked among the top 10 of the 2008 Oracle Academy Global Data Modeling Competition. The Egyptian students received recognition along with students from Romania, Serbia, Singapore and the United States. The winning students were recognized for outstanding analytical and technology skills used to create a database that tracks …

Talaat Moustafa has $1.1 bln sales to JuneReuters reported that Talaat Moustafa Group said its sales so far this year were worth more than LE 6 billion ($1.1 billion) and it was on track to hit its full-year target of LE 12.5 billion.The company also said in a statement received on Tuesday it was considering …

CAIRO: Two months after launching Egypt’s mobile number portability (MNP) service, the number of subscribers who switched networks constitutes 0.02 percent of total mobile subscribers, said telecom experts. MobiNil has so far managed to grab the biggest share at some 16 million subscribers. Vodafone Egypt comes second at 14 million subscribers, while Etisalat Egypt has …

CAIRO: Monopolistic business practices will now be fined between LE 100 million and LE 300 million, according to the amended version of the anti-monopoly law passed by the People’s Assembly (PA) late Sunday. Many were awaiting the approval of proposed amendments to create a failsafe law that will regulate competition in the ever-growing market. However, …

CAIRO: The economy isn t developing at the announced rates, Central Bank reports indicate different numbers, economist Ahmed Sayed El Naggar told Daily News Egypt commenting to what Minister of Economic Development Othman Mohamed Othman said earlier this week. At a press conference discussing the economic monitoring report of the third quarter of 2008/2009, Othman …