Latest in Tag: FJP Highlight
Latest in Tag: FJP
ICRC warns rising food prices hurting the poorest in war zones
GENEVA: The head of the international Red Cross warned Tuesday that soaring food prices are exacerbating the misery of millions of poor people already suffering in war zones from Chad to Afghanistan. The recent rise in food and fuel prices is making life even harder for poor people already struggling to cope with the effects …
With steel price limits set, buyers may get a yearned-for break
CAIRO: Al Ezz Dekheila Steel, a subsidiary of Egypt’s dominant Al Ezz Steel Rebars, reiterated its ex-factory price for a ton of steel this week and set formal limits for the prices dealers and retailers can charge, in keeping with a new set of rules advanced by the Ministry of Trade and Industry this week. …
Savola Group launches Savola Foods Company
CAIRO: A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Savola Group and Al Muhaidib Company to incorporate Savola Foods Company, according to a press statement. Sami Baroum, managing director of Savola Group, announced in a press conference held on May 20 that this step aims to “enhance the food security for Saudi Arabia to meet …
Industry specialists debate the causes and consequences of skyrocketing real estate prices
CAIRO: As property prices have skyrocketed in Egypt – mainly driven by hikes in construction material – it is new homeowners that will pay the price, argue experts during the Euromoney Conference. “Prices have gone up but to an extent that is not abnormal for developers. We are prepared for it, and the easiest [way-out] …
Real estate holds key to higher growth, employment rates, says Investment Minister
CAIRO: The real estate market is the main driver behind Egypt’s higher growth and employment rates, said Investment Minister Mahmoud Mohieldin in his keynote address Monday at the Euromoney Egypt Housing and Real Estate Finance Conference. “The real estate market constitutes 8.6 percent of Egypt’s GDP; and if the market was bigger, growth rates would …
Capitalizing on mortgage finance
CAIRO: Establishing a solid mortgage finance market is vital to maintaining the success of the real estate sector, experts said Monday at the Euromoney real estate conference. With 22 banks and companies handling mortgage insurance in Egypt, “mortgage insurance is in place, said Fathy El Sebai, chairman of the Housing and Development Bank, in a …
Building a better framework for housing market
CAIRO: “The real estate market is one of the most important sectors in Egypt, said Ahmed El-Maghrabi, minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Development. In his keynote speech at the Euromoney Egypt Housing and Real Estate Finance Conference on Monday, El-Maghrabi said real estate and construction have achieved a 15 percent growth rate in recent …
Ministry sets new rules to allay steel buyers' price-jacking fears
CAIRO: The Ministry of Trade and Industry introduced new rules this week that aim to cool rapidly mounting steel prices by making steel sellers comply with price limits set by their producers. The new rules allow producers to quote a resale price ceiling to their retailers and stop trading with them if they exceed it. …
Asian governments forced to act as oil prices soar
JAKARTA: Torn between protecting the poor and saving their budgets, governments across Asia are being forced to slash fuel subsidies as world oil prices smash through $130 a barrel. Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan have decided to wield the axe on multi-billion-dollar subsidies despite fears of unrest as inflation spikes and the region s poor pay …
New glass plant to create 2,200 jobs, says firm
CAIRO: GlassWorks, Ianua SPA and PPG Industries broke ground on a greenfield float-glass plant near Cairo to cater to export markets, the company announced in a press statement. “A greenfield float-glass plant now being built near Cairo will employ 2,000 workers in the construction phase and create 200 new jobs as it gears up to …
Spotlight on real estate at Euromoney
CAIRO: As all eyes continue to focus on Egypt’s evergreen real estate sector, the Euromoney Egypt Housing and Real Estate Finance Conference will open today in Cairo, bringing together some 700 high profile industry experts. “The main objective of tomorrow’s conference is to explain Egypt’s real estate market and mortgage finance market to local and …
Palestinian PM says $1.4 billion in investments raised at West Bank business conference
BETHLEHEM: A Palestinian business conference has helped raise investments for projects worth $1.4 billion, including in housing, high-tech and telecommunications, the Palestinian prime minister said Friday. The investments could create as many as 35,000 jobs, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said at the end of the three-day conference, which drew more than 500 foreign investors, many …
Oil prices rally back towards record highs
LONDON: Crude oil prices jumped higher on Friday to trade just below $132 a barrel, $3 away from record highs reached this week on concerns that supplies will not meet demand, traders said.New York s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for July delivery, rose $1.12 to $131.93 a barrel.In London, Brent North Sea …
News In BRIEFS
Egypt, Ukraine sign cooperation protocolEgypt and Ukraine signed a cooperation protocol in Kiev Thursday May 22 at the end of the fifth session of the Egyptian-Ukrainian committee. Egypt and Ukraine agreed to boost cooperation in banking, natural gas, oil, higher education and scientific research, sports, agricultural machinery, health and communications, according to the final communiqué …
Diesel set to cost more in Dubai
ABU DHABI: The price of diesel in Dubai is set to rise again in line with surging international crude prices that are currently trading at lifetime highs past the $135 mark per barrel, Gulf News reported Friday.Oil industry sources told Gulf News yesterday that the Dubai-based oil retailers – Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc), Emirates …
Palestinians get new cell phone operator
BETHLEHEM: The Palestinian cellular phone market will be opened to competition when a new operator, Wataniya Telecoms, launches operations by the end of the year, an official said on Thursday.Mobile operator Jawwal, a unit of the telecoms group PalTel, has long been the official provider in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, although it has …
Growth will combat inflationary reactions, says Nazif
CAIRO: Earlier this week at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East in Sharm El-Sheikh, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif sat down for an interview with CNN’s John Defterios to talk about combating inflation in Egypt. Stressing on the need to further grow the economy, Nazif pointed out the decline in unemployment rates as one …
Oil climbs to record above $135 a barrel on supply worries, weak dollar
BANGKOK: Oil prices hit a new record above $135 a barrel and fell back slightly in Asia late Thursday, with supply worries, rising global demand and a slumping dollar keeping crude futures on an upward track. With gas and oil prices setting new records nearly every day, many analysts are beginning to wonder what might …
US firm wins design contract for Cairo Financial Center
DENVER: Ohlson Lavoie Collaborative, a US consulting firm based in Denver, will serve as the architect of record on the design of the Cairo Financial Center (CFC), the company said in a press statement. As the biggest contract in company history, the project is 8.1 million square feet of office, conference, hotel, retail and parking …
Dragged by inefficient labor, Egypt's competitiveness takes another dive
CAIRO: Egypt s ranking tumbled 14 spots in this year’s “Global Competitiveness Report for 2008 due to a dismal labor market efficiency score. Published by the World Economic Forum this week, the competitiveness report ranked Egypt 77 out of 131 countries, down from 63 in 2007 and dropping 25 spots since 2005. Egypt’s labor market …
Orascom jump starts N. Korea luxury hotel building after 20 years stall
SEOUL: Orascom has resumed construction work on a large luxury hotel in the North Korean capital after being suspended for nearly 20 years due to funding problems, South Korean analysts said Wednesday. Construction of the 105-storey Ryugyong Hotel began in 1987, using French financing and technology. The 330-meter venue was billed for completion in 1992 …
Education takes the spotlight as WEF closes
SHARM EL-SHEIKH: Education was the talk of the town as the three-day World Economic Forum on the Middle East came to a close Tuesday in Sharm El-Sheikh, Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the WEF, asked leading political and business figures to reflect on whether the Middle East will learn from the future – …
Mideast bankers defend sovereign wealth funds
SHARM EL-SHEIKH: Mideast bankers on Monday staunchly defended sovereign wealth funds – the vast government-directed pools of investment money that have raised controversy in the West – contending they helped save the US financial system from collapse. But World Bank President Robert Zoellick cautioned that the funds will continue to raise international concern as countries …
No crash on the radar for GCC economies, say experts
SHARM EL-SHEIKH: The booming economies of Gulf nations will continue to grow in spite of increasing inflation, labor unrest and instability in global financial markets. At least that’s what experts predicted Tuesday in a debate entitled “Is the Gulf Crash Coming? at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East in Sharm El-Sheikh. Apparently, it …
If you build it, they will come – in droves
Egypt’s recent economic success has largely been propped by foreign direct investment (FDI), and as investor confidence grows with the economy, it attracts even more FDI, creating what can best be described as a snowball effect. With a staggering $11.1 billion last year and $7.8 billion in the first half of fiscal year 2007/08, Egypt …
Techno Tools: a look at the Egyptian Education Initiative
Education has been singled out as crucial to making Arab countries competitive in the global economy, and one of the ways government plans to change the face of teaching in Egypt is by integrating information technology in the learning process. “Education is the foundation on which everything else grows, said Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif recently. …
Foreign banks create inexorable change in sector
The government support of privatizing state-owned banks and the entry of several Gulf-based players have galvanized the banking sector in the past two years. Raising the professional standard of banks in Egypt has been a challenge that was met with strong public opposition. For decades, the banking system was dominated by four, low performing state-owned …
Israeli FM put in the hot seat
It’s not too late to implement a vision of two states for two nations, said Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni during a half-hour session titled “Global Leader in the Spotlight. Despite a mild start with a question posed by director of the World Economic Forum on the Middle East Sherif El Diwany, where he asked …
Economy will continue to grow despite global slowdown, says analyst
CAIRO: While the ripple effect of the US sub-prime crisis has reached the global economy, recent economic milestones indicate that Egypt is cushioned against the impacts of recession. “Egypt has seen a resurgence of confidence in the private sector which is required to help find economic growth. That has been seen in the growth of …
Iranians-Swiss in gas deal, despite US pressure
TEHRAN: The National Iranian Gas Export Company (NIGEC) signed a long-term agreement with the Swiss-based EGL Group to bring natural gas from Iran to Europe, beginning in 2009. The investment in exporting gas to Switzerland will reach ?40 billion, NIGEC s managing director Na srallah Seifi told the Iranian-based Fars news agency over the weekend. …