Report: bird culling bill reached LE 1 billion CAIRO: The culling of more than 34 million birds since February 2006 to contain the spread of the Avian Flu virus has cost the Egyptian poultry industry nearly LE 1 billion, a Council of Ministers’ report released last week revealed. According to the report, destroying poultry suspected …

Company to offer primary lenders long-term financing at 9.5 percent CAIRO: The launch of the Egyptian Company for Mortgage Refinance (ECMR) will help lower lending rates to 11 percent, Minister of Investment Mahmoud Moheiddin told the People’s Assembly Wednesday. In a January statement, the Mortgage Finance Authority (MFA) announced that ECMR is due to begin …

CAIRO: The country’s largest cement producer, Suez Cement Group, announced final consolidated 2006 results Thursday showing a 51 percent increase in net sales and a higher profit margin, but a 10 percent decline in net income. Suez captured 32 percent of the local market in 2006 with subsidiaries Helwan and Torah Cement producing nearly 61 …

Badawy: reasons behind delay out of company’s hands CAIRO: The National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (NRTA) reaffirmed Wednesday its decision not to levy monetary penalties on the new third mobile operator, Etisalat Egypt, for failing to initiate its services in February. NTRA Chairman Amr Badawy said the company has faced circumstances beyond its control, causing it …

CAIRO: Mobinil has agreed to suspend offering Edge Technology and upgrade its network in exchange for governmental authorization to offer lifetime validity to its prepaid customers and add one million new numbers, the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT) announced Tuesday. According to a ministry statement, Mobinil will invest in upgrading its network over …

Company continues MENA expansion; plans to add 10 million tons to cement production capacity in next 6 months CAIRO: Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) reported late last week net income reached LE 2.67 billion in 2006 on nearly LE 16.5 billion in consolidated revenues for its construction and cement groups. The figures represent a 57 percent …

CAIRO: Dubai-based Emaar Properties has acquired Artoc Group’s 60 percent share in Emaar Misr for $142 million (LE 809 million), capping the much publicized conflict begun in the last quarter of 2006. The announcement came separately from both sides on Thursday, one day after the Holding Company for Tourism (HCT) initiated legal action to reclaim …

CAIRO: Local mobile operators have been granted 30 days to reach a roaming agreement, National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority Chairman Amr Badawy said Tuesday. Roaming negotiations have been ongoing since Etisalat won the third operator’s license for LE 16.7 billion last July. An agreement would allow Etisalat to use the facilities of existing operators Mobinil and …

CAIRO: The Holding Company for Tourism (HCT) announced yesterday it is launching legal action against Emaar Misr to reclaim the Sidi Abdel Rahman land plot sold for LE 1.2 billion earlier this month. HCT’s announcement came one day after the expiration of the deadline announced by the Ministry of Investment for Artoc Group to sell …

CAIRO: A consortium of four banks, headed by Commercial International Bank (CIB), has finalized a deal with the Egyptian Propylene and Polypropylene Company (EPPC) to finance $450 million (LE 2.6 billion) for the establishment of a new processing plant in Port Said. The deal, signed Tuesday night, represents the largest lending transaction this year completed …

CAIRO: The National Cement Company (NCC) announced Tuesday plans to invest LE 500 million to raise its annual production capacity by 30 percent to 3.9 million tons per year. The 95 percent government-owned company is the largest remaining public sector producer. In a statement, the company said it plans to upgrade two of its production …

CAIRO: The Ministry of Investment announced Tuesday it has selected Beltone Financial to prepare and execute the initial public offering of a 15 percent stake in the Bank of Alexandria (BoA) by the end of the year. Beltone won the tender offered by the government late last month, although contract terms and deal value have …

Artoc: negotiations likely to extend beyond today’s deadline to finalize a deal CAIRO: The Capital Market Authority declined Emaar Misr’s application for share-listing Sunday, citing the company’s failure to submit financial statements reflecting the company’s activities over a one-year period. The development, announced by Emaar Misr on Monday, came just two days before 60 percent …

Project to connect eight countries from Sudan to South Afirca CAIRO: Alcatel-Lucent signed this month to begin construction of the second phase of a 10,000 km submarine cable system to connect eight East African countries, providing conventional calling services and broadband access to the region. Initiated in 2003 as the East Africa Submarine Cable System …

CAIRO: Etisalat Egypt, the third mobile license winner, has pushed back its market entrance date originally slated for the end of February and put off until the end of this month. Speaking in London, Minister of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT) Tarek Kamel said he expected the company to initiate its services in the second …

Kamel: international calling licensing postponed to May CAIRO: The government is studying further liberalization of the telecommunications sector including offering a second fixed-line license and floating another 20 percent stake in Telecom Egypt (TE) in 2009, Minister of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT) Tarek Kamel said Wednesday. Kamel’s comments came on the sidelines of a …

Beshay Steel lowers ex-factory rebars price to LE 3,250 per ton CAIRO: The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) raised the export duty for select steel products Wednesday from LE 160 per ton to LE 180 per ton, reinforcing February’s levied duties on cement and steel exports. In announcing the decision, Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid …

Legislation outlawing live poultry trade expected by end of current People’s Assembly session CAIRO: The Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (MoA) initiated a campaign this week to draw investors to establish poultry abattoirs outside Greater Cairo ahead of the widely expected ban on live poultry trade. According to a ministry official, MoA will offer …

Contracted companies to sell rights to billboard construction, advertising space on trains CAIRO: The Railway Authority (RA) is working with promoters to lease its estimated 190 million sq. m. of land properties and sell advertising space on its trains, according to a Ministry of Transport (MoT) official. The Egyptian Company for Railway Projects is now …

Annual inflation reaches 12.6 percent; highest in 26 months CAIRO: The annual inflation rate reached 12.6 percent at the end of last month, up 0.2 percent from January and marking highest rate in 26 months, the Central Agency for Public Statistics and Mobilization (Capmas) reported Sunday. The February rate is the highest since the implementation …

CAIRO: Egyptian government sources said last week Egypt will honor its commitments according to the joint oil exploration agreements signed with Cyprus despite Turkey’s announced intentions to offer international tenders for exploration blocks in the same areas. The Turkish Government had announced last week through the state’s Anatolia News Agency it intends to offer tenders …

IFC Regional VP: visible results, transparency a must to earn public, private sector confidence CAIRO: The Ministers of Investment and Finance (MoI) and (MoF) continued their 2006-launched drive to encourage businesses to enter public-private partnerships to implement infrastructure and public service projects at the inaugural Middle East and North Africa PPP Summit launched Monday. Speaking …

Kassem: Egyptian textiles producers should not be threatened by liberalization CAIRO: Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid said Thursday the free trade agreement with Turkey entering implementation this month is expected to boost bilateral trade from LE 1 billion in 2005 to LE 5 billion in the next three years. The agreement allows …

Nazif: There s agreement on principles but mechanisms take time CAIRO: Egypt and the European Union (EU) said Wednesday the March 6 signing of the European Neighborhood Policy s (ENP) Action Plan represents their agreement to move forward with political and economic reform within Egypt and create a nuclear-weapons free Middle East. A nuclear-weapons free …

Ministry to spend LE 3 billion to upgrade signaling system CAIRO: The Ministry of Transportation (MoT) will spend LE 3 billion in the next 24 months to upgrade the railway system’s signaling system, including the incorporation of GPS technology, Minister Mohamed Mansour said late Tuesday in unveiling the broad lines of the ministry’s plan to …

Moheiddin: Government to take necessary measures to protect interests of state, investment in Egypt CAIRO: Artoc Group has agreed to sell its 60 percent stake in Emaar Misr to Emaar Properties, the Ministry of Investment (MoI) announced Tuesday. The deal, signed Monday, requires both sides to conclude the transaction by March 27. A deal value …

Abishevich: countries need to capitalize on “considerable untapped economic potential CAIRO: Egypt and Kazakhstan signed an agreement to boost bilateral economic and trade activity between both countries and launched their first joint business council Monday. In a ceremony attended by Khazakhstani President Nazarbayev Nursultan Abishevich and Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid, business …

Younis: El Kremat Plant output to surpass High Dam by 150 percent CAIRO: Civil works are set to begin this month to prepare El Kremat Power Plant for the upgrading of the Kremat 3 station to add 750 megawatts in annual output capacity, Minister of Electricity and Energy Hassan Younis said. Negotiations are now underway …

One year program to measure growth of companies receiving assistance. CAIRO: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is initiating a program to measure the progress of its Business Edge Advisory Services (Beas) program in Egypt. The program has been providing training to assist the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Egypt and nine other …