CAIRO: Telecom Egypt (TE) is preparing to enter into an agreement with Vodafone Egypt to buy minutes at reduced prices and resell them in the market under the Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) licenses that the Telecom Ministry plans to issue. According to independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm, Egypt’s Telecom Minister met with the CEO of …

An Egyptian court will hear a lawsuit on Nov. 9 challenging a government plan to end a row over Talaat Moustafa’s (TMG) Madinaty project, a court said on Monday — a fresh twist to a dispute that has rattled property investors. TMG’s flagship Madinaty development has been mired in a legal row since a court …

Egypt’s government will launch a tender on Wednesday for licenses to produce 3 million tons of steel, requiring investments worth 3.2 billion Egyptian pounds, newspapers reported on Saturday. The month-long tender by the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) comes as the government seeks to boost steel production to meet growing demand from the construction industry and …

MOSCOW: Vimpelcom is in talks with Algerian officials over the fate of the north African nation’s top mobile phone operator Djezzy that Algiers wants to nationalize and the Russian firm wants to control. Djezzy is the most lucrative asset of Egyptian tycoon Naguib Sawiris’ Orascom Telecom, which Vimpelcom intends to buy control of as part …

Egyptian developer Six of October Development and Investment Co. (SODIC) may start two housing projects in Syria by the end of this year, a senior executive told Bloomberg. “There is huge potential in Syria,” Ashraf Farid, the company’s operations director, said in an interview. “We are looking to launch a couple of projects towards the …

CAIRO: The changing political and economic dynamics in the world have affected Egypt’s leadership position and influence on international affairs, Middle East analyst and researcher Sophie Pommier said. On Tuesday, Oct. 5, the Centre d’Études et de Documentation Économiques, Juridiques et Sociales (Center for Social, Judical, and Economic Documentation and Study, CEDEJ) hosted a talk …

KUWAIT: The Kharafi Group, a major Zain shareholder, has received enough shares to tender to Etisalat’s offer for a 46-percent stake in the Kuwaiti telecoms firm, an executive said on Thursday. Kharafi unit National Investments Co. (NIC) had advertised for shareholders to join a consortium and tender their shares. "We have approvals from our clients …

DUBAI: Housing markets in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are likely to see the average vacancy rise, before it peaks in 2012, while apartment sale prices and rentals continue to erode, property consultancy Landmark Advisory said on Wednesday. The residential average vacancy will gradually increase to peak at 12 percent in 2012 from 10 percent in …

Egyptian paintmaker Pachin said on Sunday it declared a cash dividend of LE 4.5 ($0.79) for the 2009/10 period. Full-year net profit at Egypt’s largest listed paint maker jumped 70 percent to LE 154.7 million, and net sales rose to LE 703.8 million. Pachin’s chairman said in November Egypt’s paint market was growing at 2 …

  CAIRO: Syrian authorities arrested an 11-member organ trafficking ring in northern Aleppo, allegedly led by a 26-year-old Egyptian woman named Fadia, Syria-based daily independent Al-Watan reported Monday. The group is allegedly responsible for trafficking the kidneys of about 150 Syrians over the past year — some of whom are in critical condition, the report …

CAIRO: Worldwide demand for outsourcing is tilting towards Egypt as Europe now spends more on outsourcing than North America. According to Denise D’Elia, a Vodafone representative, outsourcing as an industry was valued at $13 billion last year. Egypt has the third-largest talent pool in the EMEA region. This is largely due to the country’s rich …

CAIRO: The statue of the ancient goddess Hathor will be moved to a museum in Sharm El-Sheikh after it was found in the desert five days after it went missing from Sarabit El-Khadem Temple where it originally stood. Sarabit El-Khadem Temple is located at 1100 altitude above sea level in South Sinai, only 80 km …

CAIRO: Founder of Al-Karama Party Hamdeen Sabahi called for the revival of socialist economic policies of the Nasserite era and the re-nationalization of privatized public properties. Delivering a passionate speech to workers assembled at the Egyptian Center of Economic and Social Rights (ECESR) Monday, Sabahi said that change won’t come except through the physical presence …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is investigating reports that a CIA missile strike killed a senior Al-Qaeda commander as he traveled in a tribal region near the Afghan border, security officials said Wednesday. If confirmed, Sheikh Fateh Al-Masri’s death would be the covert US missile program’s latest blow to Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network. Al-Masri is believed to …

CAIRO: Investigations are being carried out into allegations by three members of Rashid’s public prosecution office that a state security investigations (SSI) officer verbally assaulted and threatened to open fire on them as they attempted to inspect a SSI facility. News of the incident was first reported by Mohamed Abdelaziz, a lawyer with the Nadeem …

It can be said that the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sector has traditionally been treated as something of an afterthought by many banks in Egypt. This point was illustrated in a recent survey, which showed that lending to the SME sector amounted to only 5 percent of total lending in Egypt. But as competition …

Hisham Ezz El Arab, chairman of Commercial International Bank (CIB), recently launched the CIB Foundation, a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative dedicated to enhancing health and nutrition services for underprivileged children in Egypt. Nesma Farahat, manager of the CIB Foundation, told Daily News Egypt that the board of trustees chose children’s health and nutrition as …

ASHDOD: Three Jewish activists who tried to bust Israel’s blockade on Gaza were on their way out of Israel on Tuesday night and a fourth was awaiting deportation, their lawyer said. Israeli warships on Tuesday intercepted the boat named "Irene" 20 nautical miles off the coast of the Gaza Strip, and took it the port …

A report prepared by the Agricultural Research Center announced an annual fall in productivity of fruits and vegetables by 70 percent, reported Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper, on the back of climate change and increased temperatures. An example, the report provided, showed that the tomato crop fell from 40 tons per acre in 2009 to 15 tons …

Egypt will not change terms for a new contract for Talaat Moustafa’s flagship Madinaty project and will take 7 percent of the project’s completed housing units, as in the original deal, a newspaper reported. "There will be no change in the contract terms, the state will get a 7 percent compensation for (areas) built-up on," …

Egypt’s prime minister said on Thursday that gross domestic product in the July to September quarter was expected to grow by an annualized 6 percent, up from 5.9 percent in the previous quarter. Speaking to reporters, Ahmed Nazif said growth in the first quarter of the financial year that began on July 1 would reach …

DUBAI: Dubai state-owned property developer Nakheel expects to complete its debt restructuring by the end of the year. "We have had a successful bank meeting and we are having very good discussions with the Nakheel co-com (core committee)," chief executive Chris O’Donnell told reporters on Thursday. Conglomerate Dubai World has near-unanimous approval for its $24.9 …

MUSCAT: Oman plans to stick to its spending plan this year and the budget deficit is likely to be smaller as oil prices seem to stay higher than estimated, the Gulf country’s finance ministry official said on Sunday. The small non-OPEC crude producer largely overshot its original expenditure plans in the past two years to …

Egyptian builder and fertilizer maker Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) said on Monday it approved the issue of LE 1.65 billion ($289 million) of bonds for purposes including possible acquisitions. Ninety percent of the issue, which carries an 11.75 percent semi-annual coupon, will be offered via a private placement and the rest to the public. "I …

A group of leading Saudi importers has purchased 360,000 tons of optional origin barley for Oct. shipment and another 265,000 tons of Ukrainian origin for Sept. shipment, trade sources said on Friday. They said 360,000 tons of optional origin barley were purchased in the last few days by several private Saudi buyers from international suppliers …

GB Auto, Egypt’s biggest listed automobile assembler, will pay a LE 3.09 ($0.54) dividend on Oct. 3, it announced in a newspaper advertisement on Wednesday. The dividend will be paid to investors owning shares as of Sept. 30. The company’s second-quarter net profit surged 92 percent from a year earlier, bolstered mainly by an extended …

The Saipa Automotive Manufacturing Group has signed a deal to set up a factory in Sudan to produce 35,000 cars over the next five years, the Iranian news agency Mehr is reporting. The new plant in Sudan will produce a variety of car models. “Saipa’s successful presence in the Sudanese market in the past persuaded …

WASHINGTON: The Muslim cleric behind plans to build an Islamic Cultural Center and mosque near Ground Zero in New York warned on Sunday that retreating on the project would only strengthen the hand of the Muslim extremists. But Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf did not rule out that developers would move the Islamic center, telling ABC: …

Circle Oil Plc, an oil and gas exploration, development and production company, said in a note that its strategy is to locate and secure additional licenses in prospective hydrocarbon provinces and through targeted investment programs, monetize the value in those assets for the benefit of shareholders. Circle may use its own expertise to appraise reserves …

Miner Centamin Egypt said it cut its gold output guidance for 2010 by 15-20 percent due to a number of production problems at its Sukari operation, pulling its shares down 12 percent. The company expects to produce 160-170,000 ounces of gold, revised down from the original target of 200,000 ounces. The London-listed shares fell 12 …