PTT to buy 25 pct of East Mediterranean Gas for $486.9 mlnDow Jones reported that Thai energy conglomerate PTT PCL said it agreed to buy 25 percent of Egypt’s East Mediterranean Gas S.A.E from Mediterranean Gas Pipeline Ltd. for $486.9 million, giving the company a foothold for expansion in the Middle East and North Africa.East …

CAIRO: Talaat Mustafa Group (TMG) shares inched down to close at LE 13.28 on the second day of trading, after performing worse than expected on their market debut. Major stocks dropped Wednesday as shares of real estate developer TMG disappointed, dragging down the real estate sector, reported Reuters. On Wednesday, shares of Heliopolis Housing dropped …

CAIRO: The Egyptian economy grew 6.85 percent in the July-September quarter of 2007, said Minister of Economic Development Osman Mohammed Osman. The current rate of growth inched down, compared with 7.2 percent in April-June and 7.1 percent in the fiscal year 2006/7, which ended in June. “The economic growth reflects the economy s ability to …

CAIRO: Financial and economic analysts in Egypt have undermined the impact of the US credit crunch crisis on the performance of the Egyptian economy.”The Central Bank of Egypt made a smart move recently by significantly changing the structure of its foreign exchange assets, said Angus Blair, head of the research department at Beltone Financial, “Decreasing …

CAIRO: When Saudi-based Anwal finalized purchase of Omar Effendi last February in a staggering deal worth $102.5 million, the story of Egypt’s renowned department store was just beginning.A number of outgoing employees had gone on strike, protesting early retirement packages. In response to these allegations, Essam Hassan, Omar Effendi’s chief of human resources and administration, …

CAIRO: As trading in Talaat Mustafa Group (TMG) shares began Wednesday, investors sank their teeth into heavy buying transactions, making the company the market’s top gainer for the day.Shares opened the day’s trading at LE 11.38, and quickly soared to LE 13.58 at market close, recording a 19.33 percent increase.”Trading volume is high, and investors …

Dow Jones reported that French building materials maker Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA said Monday it will open a float glass production line in Egypt, to build on the strong growth trends developing in Middle Eastern markets. The plant, which the company estimates will cost approximately 120 million euros, is due to start in 2008 with …

Middle East’s inaugural Global Alternative Investment Management (GAIM) conference launched Tuesday at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai. The conference is outlining the need for regional investors to diversify, in light of the recent stock market turbulence witnessed globally. The inaugural summit highlighted the latest alternative investment strategies with a focus on lucrative emerging market …

CAIRO: The Egypt Crafts Center (ECC), a fair trade organization, announced an increase in exports to LE 250,000, up from LE 75,000 in 2004.ECC General Manager Mona El Sayed announced the 350 percent increase during an event commemorating the end of the Community Crafts Producers and Markets project.The project started almost a decade ago with …

Emaar, the Economic City (Emaar E.C.), the Tadawul-listed company developing King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), has unveiled a sea-side residential tower within the recently launched Bay La Sun Village in KAEC. Apartments in the sea-side Marina Tower 4 will be released for sale from Sunday December 2 at the Sales Centre in King Abdullah Economic …

CAIRO: Intel Corporation showcased its latest family of processors for the first time in Cairo on Sunday. The newly unveiled 16 server and high-end PC processors are built using a new transistor formula that alleviates the wasteful electricity leaks that threaten the pace of future computer innovation. In addition to increasing computer performance and saving …

On Tuesday, the Egyptian government selected SAP as its strategic IT provider for enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. Central to the development of Egypt’s growing communication and information technology (CIT) sector, a comprehensive memorandum of understanding binds the two parties to a multi-million dollar five-year agreement beginning 2008, a four-year deal with Egyptian National Post …

CAIRO: Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) released their third quarter results Tuesday, reporting a 40 percent surge in net income to $491.8 million, up from $350.3 million last year. In a statement to the press, Chief Executive Officer Nassef Sawiris said that the group’s consolidated revenue for the first nine months of 2007 grew 29 percent …

CAIRO: With ample human resource capacity, competitive tariff rates, well-established IT infrastructure and an attractive investment climate, Egypt is well equipped to become the regional hub for the call center industry, said IT experts. “The ministry has launched the branding Egypt campaign to raise awareness of its capabilities in the IT sector. The objective is …

CAIRO: “Confidence is a moving target, Egypt is becoming more attractive because we are offering more possibilities, Minister of Trade Rachid Mohamed Rachid said after announcing that he will be leading a ministerial visit to France in December. Rachid will travel to France Dec. 5-7 with Minister of Transport Mohamed Mansour and Minister of Communication …

CAIRO: Ahli United Bank (Egypt) announced its financial results for the first nine months of 2007. The bank posted net interest income of LE 131 million, a 35 percent increase over the same period in 2006, and net operating income of LE 195 million, an increase of 23 percent compared to the same period in …

CAIRO: An International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration tribunal ruled that the Kuwaiti telecom company Wataniya was not obligated to hand over its fifty percent stake of the Tunisiana network in Tunisia to its partner Orascom Telecom (OT). A dispute between the two companies over the appointment of the mobile operator s chairman led to …

CAIRO: The InnoVest Group has announced the development of a technology infrastructure consortium comprised of software, hardware, outsourcing and systems integration companies from US, Canada, UK, China and India. InnoVest Group is a Virginia-based technology and infrastructure development and consulting company. The consortium is headquartered in New York with office in Jebel Ali Technology Park …

CAIRO: Logging onto the Internet “anytime, anywhere will no longer be a problem with the launch of the new built-in Vodafone Broad Band notebook, in collaboration with Fujitsu-Siemens and Intel. The three companies announced Wednesday the launch of the new line of Fujitsu-Siemens notebooks – the first of their kind in Egypt and the Middle …

CAIRO: The Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange’s Listing Committee held on Nov. 21 decided to grant two companies a grace period of 10 days effective Nov. 22 to send their financial statement “for the period that ended on Sept. 30, Case said in a press statement. The two companies – General Company for Land Reclamation, …

CAIRO: US-Egyptian economic relations are healthy and growing, despite absence of a free trade agreement (FTA), said US Ambassador to Egypt Francis Ricciardone. “In 2004, our bilateral trade was a little over $4 billon . In only two years, in 2006, we got over $6 billion in bilateral trade, he explained. “It is very nearly …

CAIRO: Under the slogan “Bringing India to the Land of the Pharaohs, the Made in India Show was brought to Egypt for the first time ever in a bid to further strengthen bilateral economic relations and investment flows. “India has never had such a show in Egypt despite strong relations both politically and economically between …

LONDON: The euro Friday neared $1.50 for the first time after reaching a fresh historic high against the US currency, which is suffering from expectations of slower US economic growth and more rate cuts. The European single currency – created in 1999 – struck a record peak of $1.4967 during Asian trading hours. A few …

LONDON: The dollar s misfortune was extended Thursday with the euro striking a new record high against the greenback as investors shunned risk amid gloomy prospects for the US economy, dealers said. The European single currency achieved a record peak of $1.4875 in Asian trading hours – the highest level since the euro s creation …

CAIRO: Starting this week, Arabic-language web surfers will be able to customize their Google homepage with information and applications from over 10,000 sources, the company said in a statement to the press. From to-do lists and games, to news and videos, iGoogle gives users immediate access to the information they most care about – all …

CAIRO: There are several ways for Egypt to strengthen its position as a lucrative Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) destination for the UK, with the ultimate aim of improving the lives of Egyptian citizens, Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieldin said. With his usual light-hearted tone, Mohieldin discussed current economic issues and the next steps to build …

CAIRO: “It is difficult to change US public opinion of the Middle East, [and] the opposite is also true, said Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the Arab League. “The main problem is that we do not see eye to eye on many issues. There is suspicion and tension [from both sides]. Moussa’s remarks were made during …

CAIRO: Egypt has proposed restructuring the method by which it receives aid from the United States amid increased uncertainty regarding Egyptian-US aid relations. During her visit to Washington, Minister of International Cooperation Fayza Aboul-Naga proposed an initiative to transfer the economic aid granted by the US to a joint Egyptian-US time deposit account. The proposed …

DUBAI: A Dubai state holding firm has acquired a 24.62 percent stake in EFG-Hermes, a move which provides further evidence of the booming Gulf emirate s desire to diversify its portfolio of foreign investments. Dubai Holding said in a statement on Monday that its subsidiary, Dubai Financial Group, had bought two companies belonging to Dubai-based …

CAIRO: The public was shocked Monday with news that the government has decided to increase electricity prices starting December. The new prices apply to all categories, including domestic, commercial, street lights and agricultural. The only category that was not included in the raise was the first domestic bracket or the “lower-income domestic bracket. The government …