CAIRO: Telecoms tycoon Naguib Sawiris said he would muscle in and enter any market available, regionally or internationally, because opportunities are becoming scarce. “Opportunities remaining in telecommunications are only a handful. Penetration is gaining [momentum]. Markets have become saturated, and obtainable licenses are diminishing, he said. His remarks came amid talk of OT’s interest in …

CAIRO: Stars Center administration is considering imposing entry fees on CityStars mall visitors during the weekends, but is still not certain about the nature and amount of said fees, sources at CityStars told Daily News Egypt. Over the last week, frequenters of CityStars, Egypt’s biggest shopping mall, have been hearing indoor public announcements stating that …

CAIRO: The privatization of monopolistic and highly profitable Eastern Tobacco S.A.E is not in the cards for the foreseeable future, according to a company insider. The source, who preferred to remain anonymous because they were not allowed to speak to the press, told Daily News Egypt that there were currently no plans to privatize the …

CAIRO: Oil and gas representatives from 19 countries met Thursday in Cairo to discuss developments in the petroleum market as well as expectations of global supply and demand for oil on the short- and medium-terms. The seventh meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Counties (Opec) and non-Opec experts will last for two days, …

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations, Google and Cisco today unveiled a pioneering online site that tracks progress towards decreasing global poverty by 2015, a global campaign known as the Millennium Development Goals, or MDGs. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon launched the project, called MDG Monitor, and highlighted the urgent need to increase global cooperation. The …

CAIRO: Real estate developer Talaat Mustafa Group (TMG) will offer 295 million ordinary shares in an IPO scheduled to start on Nov. 9. The new shares are expected to be offered at LE 10 to LE 13.91 per share in the IPO, supposedly a five percent discount to the price in the private placement. TMG …

CAIRO: Training ICT calibers to further build on the nation’s economic successes is Egypt’s main concern, said Minister of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) Tarek Kamel at the opening speech of the Global Public Policy Conference (GPPC) 2007 Monday. Held from Nov. 4-6 under the auspices of MCIT in cooperation with the Egyptian Information Telecommunications …

CAIRO: Why start a business from scratch when you can franchise? Franchising has over 90 percent chance of success – unlike starting one’s own business – according to speakers at the first Regional Franchise Development Conference recently held in Cairo. “If you want to start your own business; if you are smart enough and know …

CAIRO: Egypt’s recent announcement that it will kick-start its nuclear energy program, which had been shelved after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, raises questions about the future of the country’s energy supplies. Currently, Egypt’s energy comes primarily from oil, liquid natural gas (LNG) and hydroelectricity, with miniscule supplies coming from wind and other energy projects. …

CAIRO: Cement experts expect prices to skyrocket to unprecedented highs following last week’s cement auction, contrary to the government’s recent efforts to reduce prices. “Prices of licenses were way above expectations, which automatically translates into an additional cost for producers, eventually leading to price upsurges in the market, stated Omar Mohanna, chairman of Suez Cement. …

BAHRAIN: Deutsche Post World Net, the world’s leading logistics provider, recently announced the launch of its third DHL Disaster Response Team (DRT), which will cover the Middle East/Africa region., according to a press statement. Based out of the DHL Express UAE headquarters in Dubai, the team of over 40 volunteers is capable of setting up …

CAIRO: From basic inkjet printers to sophisticated LaserJet printers; and from retail photo booth finishing to graphics and signage printers, Hewlett-Packard (HP) currently holds a 65-70 percent global market share. “At HP, we don’t [consider] ourselves in the printer business, but we are in the printing business. And maybe in more obsolete terms, we are …

CAIRO: Have women in business managed to accomplish what their counterparts in politics were not able to achieve? former Member of Parliament, Mona Makram Ebeid, posed this question during a debate at the American University in Cairo on Wednesday. Ebeid started the debate by highlighting the global growth in the number of women in the …

FRANKFURT: The euro climbed to another record high on Friday despite a surprisingly strong gain in the number of jobs in the US. The 13-nation currency rose to $1.4525 in afternoon European trading before falling back to $1.4496, up from the $1.4462 it bought in late New York trading. The new high came after data …

CAIRO: SolFocus, Inc., whose mission is to enable solar energy generation at cost parity with fossil fuels, has announced its interest in establishing a subsidiary in Egypt that will work to generate electricity. “With its abundant sunshine and land resources, the Middle East region is ideally suited to benefit from the substantial opportunity for solar …

CAIRO: Rasmala Investments Holdings today announced that it has acquired 51 percent of the Delta Financial Group in Egypt, according to a press statement. This group includes Delta Securities Egypt, one of the five largest brokerage companies; Delta Asset Management, an established asset management firm recently; and Delta Capital Investments, a corporate finance firm with …

DUBAI: Dubai government-controlled DP World on Wednesday said it had moved into the Egyptian maritime market for the first time, buying a 90 percent stake in a container port operator for $670 million. DP World, one of the world s largest container port operators, said in a statement it had acquired a controlling stake in …

CAIRO: China is to build its first ever foreign industrial zone in Egypt in a project that is expected to draw $2.5 billion in investment, Egypt s Trade and Industry minister said Tuesday. The five-square-km Chinese Egyptian Zone for Cooperation and Trade will be built near Suez over the next 13 years at a cost …

CAIRO: Arab African International Bank (AAIB) launched its merchant loan program – the first of its kind in Egypt – providing merchants with low-cost financing to expand their business. The loans are offered at competitive interest rates and are guaranteed by the value of total electronic payment transactions settled between the bank and the merchant, …

CAIRO: ExxonMobil Egypt celebrated Tuesday the arrival of the new Mobilgear 600 XP Series of premium industrial gear oils to the Egyptian market. Mobilgear 600 XP is formulated to protect industrial gearboxes. It can help increase productivity, enabling different industries to become more competitive. “Gearbox technology has developed significantly in recent years. As a result, …

CAIRO: Last Sunday’s auction for six licenses to build greenfield cement plants across the nation spurred dismay among various industry players, most of whom failed to win the bid. Several cement companies revealed their intentions to file lawsuits against the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) – the entity that ran the auctions – accusing it of …

CAIRO: The advancement of fair trade globally contributes to reducing poverty levels by offering better trading conditions to marginalized producers, according to a workshop in Sawy Culture Wheel on Monday, part of a week-long Fair Trade exhibition. Fair trade started in the mid-40s, when the US started importing needle work from Puerto Rico. In the …

CAIRO: Building on the rapid growth of Egypt’s real estate sector and with growing demand for diversified mortgage finance opportunities, Amlak Finance PJSC officially launched its Egypt operations at a press conference Monday Amlak Finance and Real Estate Investment is a wholly owned subsidiary of Amlak Finance PJSC. It is the largest publicly listed Islamic …

KUWAIT CITY: The National Bank of Kuwait, the country’s largest bank, has acquired 93.77 percent of Egypt s AlWatany Bank in a deal worth more than $900 million, the bank and the bourse said on Monday. In August, NBK won a competitive bid worth $516 million to control 51 percent stake of AlWatany Bank and …

CAIRO: Abraaj Capital, a private equity investment firm in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (Menasa) region, announced recently a record $1.2 billion second closing of its Infrastructure and Growth Capital Fund (IGCF), providing the fund with total commitments of $1.7 billion beginning last September. IGCF, capped at $2 billion upon final closing …

CAIRO: The EU-Africa-Middle East Energy conference, held in Sharm El Sheikh on Nov. 1, will build on the existing regional agreements for further development and cooperation in the field. Co-organized by the European Commission (EC) and the Egyptian government, the conference will feature the participation of EC and key energy players from the region. The …

CAIRO: Bidding on eight licenses to build new cement factories in eight governorates across the nation started Sunday, with the highest bid reaching LE 251 million and the lowest at LE 22 million. Only six new licenses were granted to six bidders after two companies suddenly withdrew from the auction for allegedly not submitting their …

CAIRO: Intel held a special event on Thursday to celebrate the training of 100,000 teachers in Egypt through its “Teach program, which was launched in Egypt three years ago with the objective of training teachers on a new pedagogic approach relying on the effective integration of technology in the classroom. “This is only the first …

CAIRO: All new cement companies who will receive licenses after Sunday’s tender will be encouraged to increase the domestic component used to establish their cement factories, the Ministry of Trade and Industry announced. All new factories will be required to use a minimum of 20 percent domestic components. By doing so, the 14 new cement …

CAIRO: In a major step towards developing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieldin inaugurated Thursday Egypt’s highly anticipated SME bourse named the Nile Stock Exchange (Nile X). Enlisting is expected to begin within one week, and actual trading will take place in two months’ time. “With the SME stock exchange, these …