CAIRO: Egyptian garment-makers may be big fish in this pond, but their Chinese counterparts are whales. Or, if you happen to be one of their rivals, sharks might be more like it. Egypt’s Customs Authority and the Trade Agreements Department at the Ministry of Trade and Industry are launching a six-month study to consider whether …

CAIRO: HSBC will continue to apply its growth and expansion strategies on the regional and domestic fronts despite the recent challenges facing global economies, bank officials announced in a press conference Monday. At the inauguration of HSBC Bank Egypt’s new head office on the Maadi Corniche, officials spoke to the media about pressing issues related …

CAIRO: Egypt’s stock market will launch a commodities exchange April-May 2009 that will trade in several agricultural and industrial products, said Minister of Investment Mahmoud Moehieldin on Thursday. “In today’s world, investors are keen on trading in primary commodities . particularly in agricultural products due to spiraling costs of food products, he said. “Several stock …

CAIRO: Arab African International Bank was awarded the Euromoney awards for excellence as “Best Bank in Egypt for the year 2008, in an award ceremony held in Dubai last week. Achieving this award two years in a row comes as an accreditation of the bank’s notable growth rate that has made it one of the …

CAIRO: Egypt has taken a step forward in combating software piracy, with most recent record of piracy rates dropping to 60 percent in 2007 from 63 percent the previous year, reported PRNewswire. According to the fifth annual BSA and IDC Global Software Piracy Study, Egypt’s rating is now 1 percent below the global median of …

CAIRO: Two companies have been listed on the Nile Stock Exchange (Nilex) and the third is pending approval, announced officials at the Egyptian Stock Exchange Thursday. The listing committee approved Thursday the listing of Masria Card, which has an issued capital of LE 10.8 million, and El-Badr Plastic, with an issued capital of LE 1.7 …

CAIRO: Amlak Finance and Mazaya Holding announced the signing of the Definitive Agreement for the purchase of 80 percent of Skygardens @ DIFC tower for AED 1.65 billion ($449.3 million), according to a press statement. Commenting on the signing of the agreement, Arif Alharmi, chief executive officer of Amlak Finance, said, “I am delighted to …

NEW YORK: Oil prices pulled back Friday after OPEC questioned whether crude can remain so high through the rest of the year. Meanwhile, US filling station operators pushed average gas prices deeper into record territory. In its monthly market report, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said oil s recent volatility – the price for …

CAIRO: Whether it’s milk, fruit juices, yogurt, or cheese; odds are you consume at least one Juhayna product a day. Its line of products is set to increase as the company announced Wednesday plans to add two new subsidiaries at a combined capital of LE 450 million ($84 million). With more than 28 types of …

CAIRO: What better proof of a nation’s brightening image and lengthening reach abroad than that it can now sell cars in a country where its name has often been used as a slangy synonym for “imitation ? At a courtyard press conference held Wednesday night on the outskirts of the Smart Village, auto dealer Ezz …

CAIRO: Prime Ministers Ahmed Nazif inaugurated the new center of Nokia s regional maintenance center in Smart Vilalge. The center was established by Best Service Co., a Raya Holding subsidiary, Tarek Kamel, minister of communications and information technology, and Ahmed Darwish, minister of state for administrative development also attended the inauguration. “The new center is …

WASHINGTON: A US aid agency started by the president and an African organization headed by a former head of the United Nations are expected to join forces Wednesday to battle the food crisis in Africa. John Danilovich, chief executive of the Millennium Challenge Corp., and Kofi Annan, former secretary-general of the United Nations and now …

SINGAPORE: Oil prices rose above $132 in Asia on Wednesday as the world s biggest producers and consumers prepared to meet to discuss record crude costs that are stoking fears for the global economy. New York s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for July delivery, was $1.15 higher at $132.46 per barrel after …

CAIRO: The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) recently joined forces to upgrade Egypt’s database system. “The protocol encompasses four major tracks: technological infrastructure, human resource and training, information society indicators’ measurement and databases, the MCIT said. Both entities acknowledged that Egypt’s database needs …

CAIRO: The Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange (CASE) slammed the brakes on Piraeus Bank Egypt’s stock during Monday’s session, when trading propelled the price past the 20 percent daily increase limit set by the exchange for its most active stocks. The rush for Piraeus stock followed the Capital Market Authority’s notice that it had sanctioned …

ALEXANDRIA: The development and expansion plan for Alexandria City Centre began last month, and the project will see the mall almost double in size, according to a statement released to the press. The expansion project, which will cost an estimated £E 370 million, will add 29,117 square meters of gross leasing space to take its …

CAIRO: Inflation soared to 21.1 percent in Egypt in May, its highest level in 10 years, official statistics carried by the state MENA news agency said on Tuesday. The head of the CAPMAS statistics agency, Abu Bakr Al-Guendi, said the increase was mainly due to the increased cost of food staples such as bread. Official …

CAIRO: “I ve been everywhere on my motorcycle, from Aswan to Siwa to Marsa Alam, Sharm El-Sheikh – you name it, said hotelier Olivier Masson. As a member of the Harley Owners Group (HOG) he has put around 80,000 kilometers on his bike in the last five years. Still, he says, “hospitality is my number …

CAIRO: As the sprawling Automech car fair wound down in Nasr City this week, Citibank’s booth was still doing a brisk business, signing over several hundred insurance policies in a few days. This was a big improvement on last year, the team said, when they attended mostly to advertise rather than sell their services. In …

CAIRO: Bowing to pressure from the opposition, Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmy announced Sunday that the government will revise its natural gas export prices and will not sign new exportation contracts until the end of 2010. Since the latest energy price hikes kicked-in this year, experts and opposition members have been calling on Fahmy to …

CAIRO: It was perhaps one of the most significant pieces of news to come out of the local financial sector since the global credit crunch last summer: Look out Dubai, the Cairo Financial Center is coming soon. At its current estimated investment costs – between $450 and $730 million (subject to construction costs) – Egypt’s …

Eye on the market Bonouk Al Youm newspaper reported that the Central Bank of Egypt had postponed taking any decisions regarding requests made by conventional banks to open Islamic branches until the establishment of an Islamic banking department inside the Central Bank which guarantees that services provided are Sharia compliant. Al Masry Al Youm newspaper …

CAIRO: Crédit Agricole Egypt’s (CAE) network recently expanded to 52 branches with the opening of its first office in Sohag and the relocation of one of its four Sharm El-Sheikh locations, the bank said in a press statement. The expansion is part of CAE’s effort to provide the most convenient access and advanced financial services …

CAIRO: After rising 3.6 percent since May 22, the bourse broke at the beginning the week its six-day winning streak on profit taking. Egypt’s benchmark CASE30 index extended losses for three straight sessions and then snapped off its losing streak on Wednesday, moving beyond 11,000 points, on rumors of a possible merger. Overall, this week …

MANAMA: A Bahrain-based British banker has been detained in neighboring Dubai, apparently in connection with investment funds, a Bahraini newspaper reported on Thursday. Charles Ridley has been in jail in Dubai for almost a week and it is believed that one of his Bahrain-based business associates is also held there, the English-language Gulf Daily News …

BANGKOK, Thailand: Oil rose above $130 a barrel Friday in Asia, extending gains made in the previous session when the euro rose against the dollar in response to comments by the head of the European Central Bank. Including gains in the previous floor session, that put oil more than $8 higher than at the middle …

CAIRO: Making your way through the crowds at Furnex 2008, it is obvious that interest in furniture in Egypt has grown and the exhibitions that were once only targeted at the soon-to-be-married couples or the interested few have gained a larger array of fans. The exhibition was packed with visitors, including businessmen who scouted the …

RIYADH: Abdul-Rahman Al-Nasser owns a gold store with case after case of glittering necklaces, earrings and bracelets. All it lacks is customers. Shoppers are buying just one set of gold for weddings these days, instead of at least two for the bride and another for the future mother-in-law. The sets are now much lighter in …

CAIRO: Last month, licensing some cars got trickier. On May 5, parliament passed a set of price hikes that upped the cost of registering a variety of vehicles. Then last week, the council approved traffic law amendments that will prohibit the registration of cars made more than 20 years ago. But while some of these …