CAIRO: In a potential blow to themed resorts from Vegas to Tokyo, Egypt is to pass a law requiring payment of royalties whenever its ancient monuments, from the pyramids to the sphinx, are reproduced. Zahi Hawass, the charismatic and controversial head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, told AFP that the move was necessary to …

JEDDAH: The second phase of the expansion of the Hajj Terminal at King Abdul Aziz International Airport will begin next month after the departure of all pilgrims, reported the Saudi Gazette. Abdullah Raheemy, president of the Civil Aviation Authority, said the expansion would increase the Hajj terminal capacity, the paper reported. In the second phase, …

CAIRO: “We will soon kill and steal from each other for bread. Where is the country going? asked Howeida, a middle-aged mother of three who cleans houses for a living. She recently gave her 10-year-old daughter LE 2 to buy bread from a nearby bakery and hours later, the girl came back sobbing and empty-handed. …

WASHINGTON: State-run investment funds from Asia and the Middle East are unleashing a cultural revolution on Wall Street, buying up big stakes in ailing US banks, but the deals are also raising national security fears. Concerns have spiked in recent weeks as some of America s top investment banks have sought vast cash infusions to …

CAIRO: Ezz Steel posted a 21 percent rise in third-quarter net profit as construction demand in Egypt drove up sales, reported Reuters. The company made LE 291.9 million ($53 million) in the third quarter after tax and minority interests, according to its income statement, as revenues surged 56 percent to LE 4.2 billion. A company …

CAIRO: The Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange (Case) trading committee decided Monday, Dec. 17 to add 50 stocks to the list of companies traded without price limits. The decision took effect starting Sunday’s trading session, bringing the total number of companies trading without price limits to 152. Sources told Al Masry Al Youm that the …

COLOMBO: Dubai-based airline Emirates said Friday it was standing by the chief executive it had appointed to run Sri Lanka s national carrier, just days after the island revoked his work permit. Peter Hill will remain CEO of SriLankan until the contract expires in March 2008, Emirates, which owns 43.6 percent of the company and …

TEHRAN: A sudden jump in Iran s inflation has increased domestic criticism of President Mamhoud Ahmadinejad ahead of key elections, forcing him into a televised defence to deflect the growing complaints. Inflation reached 19.1 year-on-year in the month to end-November, according to central bank figures, compared with a rate of around 12 percent when Ahmadinejad …

DUBAI: National Bank of Dubai (NBD), an Emirates NBD company, and FIMBank plc. – a Malta-based trade finance institution – announced that Mena Factors Limited, a joint venture between the two banks, has commenced operations at the Dubai International Finance Center (DIFC). Mena Factors is the first specialist financial institution in the GCC region to …

LONDON: Oil prices rose Friday because of supply concerns following a report that US crude oil stocks fell for the fifth straight week. Prices were also supported by forecasts that OPEC oil shipments were falling. The supply concerns were partly offset by worries that a US economic slowdown could lead to a drop in demand. …

CAIRO: Venezuela plans to host the energy conference of Latin American and Arab countries early next year, said Venezuela Ambassador to Egypt Victor Ramon Carazo Thursday according to the Kuwait News Agency. The conference will prepare for the coming Arab-Latin American summit, due in Morocco in May, 2008, Egypt s Middle East News Agency (Mena) …

SHARJAH: Dana Gas, the Middle East s first and largest regional private-sector natural gas company, announced the discovery of a new gas well drilled in its Egyptian concessions. According to a company statement, the Dabayaa-2 delineation well was drilled by Centurion Petroleum Corporation, the upstream division of Dana Gas in Egypt, on the eastern side …

CAIRO: Fitch Ratings said that downside risks for the world economy have increased markedly since the summer and that emerging market economies would be unable to remain decoupled in the event of a sharp slowdown in advanced economies, Fitch Ratings said in a statement to the press. This is one of the conclusions of Fitch’s …

TEHRAN: Iran s former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani spoke out against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad s economic policies, on Friday, accusing him of fighting inflation with slogans and making excessive imports. The pragmatic Rafsanjani is one of the conservative president s main political rivals, but so far he had eschewed explicitly criticizing Ahmadinejad over the country …

DUBAI: The Khaleej Times reported that investments in hotels, leisure projects, aviation developments, cruise lines, tourism promotion and support infrastructure in the Middle East have reached $3.63 trillion, according to a study done by Fast Future and Global Futures and Foresight. The research has also identified plans to invest at least $580 billion in over …

The Chinese Xinhua news agency reported that the European Union Commission has offered Egypt a grant of 80 million euros (about $115 million) to support the development and restructuring of Egypt s transport sectors, Egypt s Mena news agency reported on Tuesday. Egyptian Minister of Transport, Mohamed Mansour, made the announcement after a meeting with …

SUEZ: A Maltese-flagged tanker ran aground in the Suez Canal early Thursday, halting traffic in the major waterway for six hours until it was towed away, officials said. No oil was spilled from the ISI Olive tanker, Suez Canal Authority said in a statement. The statement said the 1992-built crude oil tanker got stranded just …

TOKYO: Japan and the United Arab Emirates on Monday signed an accord to strengthen economic ties, including a deal for Japanese banks to extend a multibillion-dollar loan to a state-owned Abu Dhabi oil firm. Japan hosted high-level economic talks with the UAE in the face of growing competition for energy from the fast-growing Chinese and …

MADRID: Spain and Libya have reached a framework agreement that could see Spanish firms invest around $17 billion in Libya, the government said Tuesday. The agreement was reached in talks Monday evening between Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi, who is making his first official visit to Spain. The deal, …

CAIRO: The Ministry of Finance has rejected the new medical insurance law proposed by the Ministry of Health for lack of financial resources, Dr Hamdy El Sayyed, head of the People’s Assembly’s (PA) health committee told Daily News Egypt. The finance ministry is set to adjust the new law to fit its budget and present …

CAIRO: Raya Corporation recently inaugurated its new headquarters in Sixth of October city, with Minister of Communications and Information Technology Tarek Kamel attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “Providing a sound working environment, without a doubt, enhances the company’s achievements and employees’ productivity. Thus, leading to our corporate vision: being a market leader wherever we are, said …

CAIRO: While Egypt emerged as the world’s top reformer in the World Bank’s recent report, Assuit surprisingly surfaced as the Egyptian city with the least-time consuming business processes. “Even if laws and regulations are the same across Egyptian districts and governorates, the time it takes to meet all the legal requirements can vary widely across …

BERLIN: The World Bank body that aids the poorest countries said Friday that its donors have pledged a record $41.6 billion for its 2008-2011 budget. The International Development Association (IDA) said at the end of a two-day donors conference in Berlin that the pledges marked a 9.5 percent increase on contributions in the previous three-year …

VIENNA: Opec on Friday raised its estimate for world oil demand growth in 2008, owing to fast-growing demand for transport and industrial fuel, but kept unchanged its forecast for world oil demand this year. The coming holiday season is keeping the kerosene jet fuel demand healthy worldwide, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said in …

CAIRO: The coveted award for “Best in Project Logistics within Aramex’s global network was presented to Aramex Egypt for an effective supply chain management system at the 25th annual leader’s conference in the Dead Sea, Jordan, according to a statement from the company Samer Gharaibeh, CEO for Aramex Africa, said, “This award is a testament …

CAIRO: Lecico Egypt was one of the 40 companies recently included in the new energy pricing strategy, and the announcement was anything but welcomed by the company. “We think it’s quite unreasonable for us [to be included]. Energy is about 10 percent of our production cost, we are not like cement or steel where their …

It has become ever so fashionable to talk about Islam and commerce. Yet a cursory look at the references to Islam and economics, business, banking, finance and made-for Muslims products and services on offer on the internet would point to the fact that Muslim commerce is booming, and what s more, has been doing so …

CAIRO: Forecasting turbulence for the global economy in 2008 – stemmed by a credit squeeze, downgraded growth and sticky inflation – Merrill Lynch advises investors to hold on to their cash and be on the lookout for opportunities. Merrill Lynch’s Global Wealth Management Outlook for 2008 predicts that the global economy will start the year …

CAIRO: “Egyptian real estate has not existed for the past 50 years, it has been limited to the development of unplanned, concrete blocks downtown, which [house] everything from offices and houses to hospitals and schools, Maher Maksoud, managing director of Sixth of October for Development and Investment Company (Sodic) told Daily News Egypt. Sodic was …

CAIRO: “We are experiencing astronomical growth – in three digit numbers in some areas, Yasser El-Mallawany, chairman and CEO of EFG-Hermes told Daily News Egypt. “Today we have a market capitalization of $4.5 billion, we operate in multiple markets covering the whole spectrum of the Middle East, he added. “Our strategy has been to strengthen …