Cooperation Between Egypt and USAID Source: The Egyptian State Information Service, September 22, 2005
Minister of Foreign Trade and Industry, Eng. Rashid Mohamed Rashid received Wednesday, September 21 assistant head of the USAID Joseph Rayan to consider means of boosting cooperation between Egypt and USAID (link here).
Rayan praised the performance of the Egyptian delegation at reconsidering the Egyptian trade policies. He added the World Trade Organization (link here) would organize a workshop on running customs risks for encouraging exporters to raise the quality of their products.
He reiterated that USAID will offer a grant to the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt (link here) for forming work groups to advise the private sector on topics related to World Trade Organization's agreements and the free trade agreements signed by Egypt and the United States.
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Egypt Delegation Leaves for Washington Source: Info Prod, September 21, 2005; Arabic news, September 26
An Egyptian delegation including Dr. Farouq Al-Oqda, the Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (link here), Eng. Rashid Mohamed Rashid, the Minister of Foreign Trade and Industry, and Dr. Mahmoud Mohieddin the Minister of Investment left for Washington to take part in the meetings of the World Bank (link here) and the International Monetary Fund (link here).
The Egyptian delegation is expected to explain the attitude of developing countries towards topics of discussion such as liberalizing trade, third world countries debts and development in the least developed countries. Eng. Rashid had discussed with the Assistant Secretary of Trade and her accompanying delegation that visited Egypt recently the future of trade relations between Egypt and the United States and accelerating negotiations on concluding free trade agreement.
Dr. Mahmoud Mohieddin said that he has reached an agreement with CBE Governor on an 18-month program with the aim of expanding the private sector's input in the Egyptian banks to reach 60-70, referring to efforts exerted for accelerating privatization program in the public business sector and selling the state inputs in this sector. Meanwhile, Eng. Rashid Mohamed Rashid agreed on the establishment of a new industrial zone in Luxor for establishing light industries, which are friendly to the environment.
Furthermore, the U.S. Administration expressed support to Egypt's government financial reform according to President Mubarak's plan to cut down on the deficit in the budget and lowering Egypt's foreign debts.
David linger, an official at the treasury department said the economic growth which is expected to reach 6% next year will help lower the deficit in the budget in the long run. He also said that customs duties reform and the free exchange rate as well as the new tariffs cut introduced by Egypt will give a strong push to the economic development in Egypt.
"Such reforms will make Egypt nears the signing of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with United States, "Robert Zoellick U.S Assistant Secretary of State commented.
FTA to be Signed with Turkey Source: The Egyptian State Information Service, September 27, 2005; Al Alam Al Youm, September 27, 2005
Minister of Foreign Trade and Industry Rashid Mohamed Rashid announced that a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) would be signed with Turkey later this year. This came during the 9th meeting of the Egyptian Turkish Business Council, which was held in Cairo on September 26. Three workshops were held on the sidelines of the meeting covering the fields of building, energy and textiles.
Rashid, who chaired the Egyptian side, said he expected the volume of trade between the two countries to increase over the coming three years to $2 billion from $750 million.
The two countries highlighted the need to accelerate signing an FTA in order to boost trade exchange and cooperation between the two countries.
This came during Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif's meeting with Turkish Minister of Trade and Industry Ali Coskun who is currently on a visit to Egypt.
Magdy Radi, the Cabinet's spokesman said that Egypt’s Prime Minister discussed with the Turkish Minister means to increase economic cooperation between the two countries especially in the fields of natural gas, as Turkey imports Egyptian natural gas through the Arab natural gas pipeline.
Furthermore, Rashid stated that this agreement would grant Egyptian Industrial exports full tariff exemption, which would definitely enhance Egyptian steel, cement & leather exports to Turkey. The agreement would also provide partial exemption to duties on Egyptian agricultural exports to Turkey that ranges from 32% to 45%.
On the other hand, Egypt would grant duty-free quotas for Turkey’s agricultural exports, with tariffs currently in the range of 2-12%, with the exception of two items which are within the 12-22% range.
Moreover, an Egyptian-Turkish construction company would be established to implement major construction projects in the Middle East and Africa.
Egypt and Italy to Establish Joint Ministerial Council Source: Info Prod, September 21, 2005
Egypt and Italy signed two agreements on Sunday, September 18 to boost bilateral cooperation in the field of tourism as well as to increase the volume of trade, industrial and investment exchange. According to the agreements an Egyptian-Italian ministerial council and a joint business council will be established.
The signing of the agreements is part of the efforts exerted to boost Egyptian-Italian relations. Earlier, Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif had talks with an Italian delegation; currently visiting Egypt headed by Claudio Scajola the Minster of Productive Activities on means to increase Italian investments in Egypt. Italy ranks third on the list of foreign investors in Egypt.
During 2005, the number of Italian tourists who visited Egypt has been estimated at around one million. The Italian minister paid tribute to the efforts being made by the Egyptian government to bring about economic and political reform, to encourage investment and support the private sector as well as to modernize industry.
Egypt Eyes Enhanced Saudi FDI Inflow Source: Trade Arabia, September 26, 2005
Saudi-based industries are expected to contribute substantial foreign direct investment (FDI) to Egypt over the next several months, Egyptian government officials speaking in Riyadh said.
"Saudi is one of Egypt's most important Gulf investment partners, with a longstanding record of business success in the country," said Dr. Ziad Bahaa el Din, Chairman of Egypt's General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) (link here).
"From investment in construction to foodstuffs and fast moving consumer goods, Saudi has invested millions of US dollars in the Egyptian economy, and we expect the contributions will only increase as Egypt continues on its path toward greater economic reform," added Dr. Bahaa el Din.
Saudi investments have been concentrated in the industrial (39%), tourism (27%) and financial services (12%) sectors. Within the industrial sector, Saudi investors have focused on food products and processing (44%), building materials (17%) and chemicals (11%). Saudi investments in Egypt have tripled in the last year over the previous one.
Dr. Bahaa el Din described the key elements of Egypt's value proposition for Saudi's investors as including excellent, preferential access to the largest and wealthiest markets in the world; Large, young and rapidly growing domestic market, educated and technically trained workforce; low-cost and reliable energy, water, and labor as well as declining business start-up costs; abundant and accessible raw material; developed infrastructure of ICT, transportation, utility and business support services; and attractive quality of life.
Industrial Furniture Zone to Be Established in Damietta Source: The Egyptian State Information Service, September 26, 2005
Minister of Foreign Trade and Industry Rashid Mohamed Rashid said that a new industrial zone in specialized wooden and furniture industries would be established in Damietta with a view to increasing exports.
The Minister said a plan of action was drawn up to back Damietta furniture exports over the coming five years.
Rashid added that the ministry has embarked on building 1000 factories for heavy industries throughout Egypt.
Suez Canal Hits Record Revenues of $304 Million in August Source: The Egyptian State Information Service, September 16, 2005
The Suez Canal posted record earnings of $304 million last August, according to Ahmed Ali Fadel, Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority.
August' revenues are the highest in the history of the Suez Canal the since it was built some 135 years ago, he added.
Fadel put at a total of $1.2 billion the cost of an operation to deepen the major waterway to 66 feet.
"This stage will be completed by the end of 2006," he said. He explained that increasing the depth of the Suez Canal would allow it to handle bigger ships. "Oil tankers rank second on the clientele list of the Suez Canal, with container ships being in the lead," he told reporters.
Fadel' s remarks were made in a celebration marking the 49th anniversary of operating the waterway by Egyptians.
CAPMAS Reports 839,000 Tourists in Egypt Last July Source: Arabic News, September 23, 2005
Statistics of the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) (link here) said the number of tourists who visited Egypt in July 2005 amounted to 839,562, up by 5.9% compared to July 2004.
Head of CAPMAS Abu-Bakr Al-Gindi said the number of tourist nights spent by those tourists in July reached 7,909,190 with a 13.6% increase versus July 2004.
Europeans topped the list of tourists who visited Egypt with 29.9% followed by Asian tourists, 3.9%, African tourists, 3.1% and tourists from North America, 2.6%. The number of Arab tourists who visited Egypt in July 2005 amounted to 270,942, with an increase of 21.1% compared to July 2004.
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Two Egypt State Banks Plan $23 Billion Merger as Part of Sector Restructuring Operations Source: Reuters, September 25, 2005; Xinhua, September 21, 2005
Egypt's regulators have decided to implement massive restructuring operations in the country’s banking sector, radically reducing the number of existing banks and improving their contribution to the national economy.
According to the reform, all mergers and acquisitions in the banking sector will be finalized over a six-month period starting from the first quarter of 2006 and the number of banks will be cut down from 56 to 35 or 37.
In a bold step, the Egyptian government plans to merge its second and third largest state banks, Banque Misr (AmCham Member) (link here) and Banque du Caire (AmCham Member) (link here), as part of moves to create fewer, bigger banks that are able to compete more vigorously.
The merger, announced in statements on Sunday, September 25 from the cabinet and Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) (link here), would create a bank with more than LE130 billion ($23 billion) in assets, probably making it bigger than the market leader, state-owned National Bank of Egypt (NBE) (AmCham Member) (link here).
Ministers have pledged to streamline the banking sector, sell off state banks and tackle the problem of bad debts.
The smallest of the big four state banks, Bank of Alexandria (AmCham Member) (link here), has already been put up for sale and the government says it expects that to take place by early 2006.
"The board of Banque Misr will manage Banque du Caire for six months from the date this decision takes effect to prepare for a merger of the two banks," the cabinet said in a statement, adding Mohamed Barakat would stay as chairman of Banque Misr.
In a separate statement, the CBE said it had approved the merger to create a stronger banking entity that would compete more effectively with NBE and other public and private institutions.
"It is in line with the ongoing consolidation taking place in the banking sector. It is an important thing when you have fewer players that are stronger and providing better services," said Alia Abdun, banking analyst at CIBC (AmCham Member) (link here).
In the past 18 months, the government has gradually sold off many of the state banks' share of joint ventures with foreign banks. It has also encouraged small private or joint-venture banks to merge with larger ones, consolidating the sector.
Analysts said bad debts in the state banks remain a burden on their balance sheets. Many of the bad debts, which analysts say could be 20% or more of their loan portfolios, were built up from past lending to state firms.
Nashwa Saleh, head of research at HC Brokerage (AmCham Member) (link here), said bunching up the bad debts, via a merger, could make handling those debts easier. She said the CBE was considering securitizing debts to the public sector to deal with the issue.
It was not immediately clear what would happen to employees at both banks, which analysts say are overstaffed.
At a conference this month, the government pledged to press ahead with sweeping reforms of the financial sector, which economists say will be essential if the government is to lift economic growth rates to 6% or more a year.
At the end of the financial year 2003/4, Banque Misr had assets of LE91.1 billion, while Banque du Caire had LE45.3 billion, making a total of LE136.4 billion. National Bank of Egypt had assets of LE131.7 billion.
By the end of the banking restructuring process, Egyptian banks will have to raise their capital to no less than LE500 million (about $86.81million) and foreign banks operating in Egypt need to raise their capital to no least than $50 million.
Among the major banking mergers, Misr Commercial Bank, the Suez Canal Bank (AmCham Member) (link here) and the Egyptian-Gulf Bank (AmCham Member) (link here) are competing for purchasing the United Bank of Egypt (link here), and about 18 international and regional institutions have offered to purchase the Egyptian American Bank (AmCham Member) (link here).
The merging processes and its relevant studies are being carried out under the auspices of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) (link here) in order to ensure depositors' rights in the branches of foreign banks.
AMOC Oversubscribed 27 Times Source: Al Alam Al Youm, September 24, 2005; Al Ahram weekly, September 29, 2005
Subscription in the Initial Public Offering of Alexandria Mineral Oils Company (link here) outpaced the most optimistic expectations. It witnessed the second highest number of subscriptions in the history of Cairo & Alexandria Stock Exchanges (AmCham Member) (link here) after Mobinil (AmCham Member) (link here) in 1998.
By the time AMOC closed its subscription, it was 27 times over subscribed. The higher than expected demand on the shares resulted in a low allocation rate of 3.7%. Bids reached LE230.3 million shares valuing LE10.4 billion; the company only offered LE387 million worth of shares.
As for the private placement, the weighted price came at LE59.9 as bids ranged from LE45 to LE91. Bids reached 298.9 million shares while offered shares were only 8.6 million. The intensive success of this IPO goes back to Sidpec’s (link here) successful IPO in June where the stock’s price climbed from LE70 to LE100
Government of Egypt Issues Notes with US Loan Guarantee Source: Business Wire, September 21, 2005
The Ministry of Finance (link here) of the Government of Egypt priced $1.25 billion of Notes in the international capital markets. The Notes, rated AAA/Aaa by S&P (link here) and Moody's (link here) respectively, will benefit from a guarantee made by the United States of America acting through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (link here).
The Notes, which have a 10-year final maturity, priced at a coupon of 4.45% or 31 basis points over the 10-year U.S. Treasury. The Notes were several times oversubscribed and widely distributed to international investors. Morgan Stanley (link here) acted as Sole Book runner and Manager on the transaction.
The guarantee was provided by the US Government to support the comprehensive economic reform program currently undertaken by Egypt. The Egyptian Minister of Finance, Dr. Youssef Boutros-Ghali, stated, "the transaction demonstrates continued US support for our reform agenda." Dr. Boutros-Ghali further indicated that "Egypt is embarking on important structural transformations and this financing will reduce our overall cost of borrowing."
The Egyptian economy grew at a real growth rate of 4.9% in the fiscal year ending June 2005. According to Bloomberg (link here), the stock market has been one of the best performing markets in 2005 with a 110% year-to-date dollar adjusted increase in the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange (CASE) (AmCham Member) (link here) index (CASE30).
Egypt to Divest Stake in 92 Companies Source: Reuters, September 25, 2005; Al Alam Al Youm, September 26
The Egyptian government plans to sell all or part of its share in 92 companies before this financial year ends in June 2006 according to the Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieddin.
The shares on sale would include 12% of Egypt Aluminium (link here), the country's only primary aluminum producer, and 20% of Sugar and Integrated Industries Company (SIIC) (link here), Egypt's main sugar refining company. Other companies on sale are Shibin el-Kom Spinning and Weaving and Delta Sugar, he added.
Mohieddin stressed on the fact that all public sector companies would be put for sale whether they are making profit or loss. He stated that there are 170 companies left and that 45 of them would be offered for sale.
Egypt to Ready Insurance Privatization Source: Agence France Presse, September 13, 2005
Egypt has commissioned an international consortium to restructure its major state-owned insurance companies, opening the way for their privatization, the Ministry of Investment (link here) announced Tuesday, September 13.
The ministry has selected the Paris-based BNP-Paribas (link here), Egypt's Commercial International Bank (CIB) (AmCham Member) (link here) and the New York-based insurance consultancy firm Milliman (link here) to do the job.
The consortium will act as a financial advisor and help "restructure the state-owned insurance companies and put them up for sale to the private sector.
"The consortium is due to begin evaluating the companies and suggest how to restructure them as soon as (the government) signs a contract with it," the ministry said, adding that this could happen over the coming weeks.
Egypt's state-owned insurance firms include the Egyptian Reinsurance Company (link here), the Misr Insurance Company (link here), Al-Chark Insurance (link here) and the National Insurance Company (link here).
Between them, the four companies have a total investment of 2.2 billion euros and control 80% of Egypt's insurance market.
New competition from foreign insurance giants, such as AIG (AmCham Member) (link here), ACE (AmCham Member) (link here), Allianz Group (AmCham Member) (link here) and AMIG (AmCham Member) (link here) that have moved into the Egyptian market in recent years, has added to the challenges facing the state-owned companies.
For Amcham’s Banking Sector Developments in Egypt New (click here).
Orascom Telecom Sells Off Mobile Firm in Congo Source: Company Finance Alert, September 19, 2005; Middle East Economic Digest, September 23, 2005
Egypt's leading mobile operator Orascom Telecom (OT) (link here) has sold its operations within the Democratic Republic of Congo “Oasis” at a cost of $35 million including debts, citing that it was within the company's interests to sell off stakes in slow growing countries.
OT had acquired the stake in the company through its wholly owned subsidiary Telecel (link here) in April 2000.
However, Orascom is currently awaiting the decision regarding the sale of a 51% stake in Nigeria's fixed line incumbent Nitel (link here) and remains committed to Congo-Brazzaville.
Meanwhile, Orascom is also concentrating on its other international interests within Pakistan, Algeria, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Chad, Bangladesh and more recently Iraq, where it acquired the remaining 37% stake in mobile operator Iraqna, making it the operator's indirect sole owner and providing it with a greater deal of flexibility in the upcoming Iraqi mobile license auction.
Mobinil Signs Partnership with Egypt’s First Virgin Megastore Source: Egypt News, September 23, 2005; The Daily Star, September 16, 2005
The Egyptian Company for Mobile Services (Mobinil) (AmCham Member) (link here) has signed a partnership agreement with Egypt’s first Virgin Megastore (link here) , the local branch of a worldwide records, games and electronics superstore that is one of the largest on the planet.
The signing agreement took place on September 12, 2005, and was attended by Jean Claude Torbey, Regional General Manager of Virgin Megastore and Osman Sultan, MobiNil’s CEO.
Virgin megastore has paired up with other strategic partners in Egypt. Mastercard (link here) is a regional partner; Commercial International Bank (CIB) (AmCham Member) (link here) is local partner and together with the entertainment giant has co- branded a store credit card- the VIP-CIB card. Media partners include Melody TV (link here) , NILE FM (link here) & Nogoom FM (link here) .
Virgin Megastore is a worldwide international brand. The chain has 50 locations around the world with seven in the Middle East. It is the first store in Cairo to offer such an extensive selection of records, books, DVDs, CDs, multimedia, mobiles, electronics and books.
Raya Holding Partners with MTC to Automate Work Flow System Source: Middle East Company News Wire, September 15, 2005
Raya (AmCham Member) (link here) , one of the largest IT and Telecommunications companies in the Middle East, has announced its partnership with Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC) (link here) of Kuwait, the leading mobile operator in the Middle East and Africa. The partnership aims to automate MTC's workflow systems including human resources, finance and sales procedures, in addition to creating intranet portals.
MTC's decision to opt for this level of automation is in line with the company's efforts to adopt the latest advancements in technology and leverage the IT boom in the region. This partnership with MTC underlines Raya's strong regional presence, where it has been involved in several major IT implementation projects in recent months.
Raya has been successful in implementing state-of-the-art IT solutions to meet its growing customer demands in various sectors through its strategic partnerships with many leading IT manufacturers. MTC will look to leverage Raya's thorough understanding of the local IT market requirements and its experience in delivering high quality services to companies operating in this market.
Azure and Giza Systems Win Contract with Telecom Egypt Source: M2 Presswire, September 21, 2005
Azure Solutions (link here) , the Revenue-assurance Company, and Giza Systems (AmCham Member) (link here) , a leading Egyptian systems integrator, today announced a major new deal with Telecom Egypt (link here) , Egypt's incumbent telecommunications operator, to provide revenue-assurance and fraud management systems.
Telecom Egypt has a fixed-line subscriber base of 10 million subscribers, which makes it the largest fixed-line provider in the Middle East and Africa. This is the first time Telecom Egypt has implemented a revenue-assurance and fraud-management solution, and it will enable it to reduce potential revenue leakage and maximize revenues across both its fixed-line and mobile services.
The implementation will form part of an overall solution with an Agilent AcceSS7 system and ATIO test-call generators.
Azure's end-to-end revenue-assurance product portfolio for current-generation networks includes Data Integrity, Wholesale and Interconnect Billing, International Settlements, Fraud Management, Mediation Management, Translation and Rating, and Event Integrity
The implementation for Telecom Egypt is the result of a strategic partnership agreement between Azure and Giza Systems, aimed at providing revenue-assurance solutions for fixed and mobile operators across Africa and the Middle East.
Four Billion Dollars of Investment in Wind Source: ADNKronos International, September 26, 2005
The new owner of Italian telecom operator Wind (link here) , Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris has unveiled his plans for the firm and an industrial strategy that includes a $4 billion investment plan.
"We will create a Mediterranean telecommunication hub, with more than 50 million clients, exploiting the synergies existing between Wind and Weather Investment's telecom operator," said Sawiris, speaking in Rome, Monday September 12. Sawiris is the majority shareholder of Weather Investment, which through Orascom Telecom (OT) (link here) holds cellular phone licenses in Algeria, Egypt, Pakistan, Tunisia and Iraq.
The investment plan, to be carried out in five years, will be financed with Wind's operational revenues and will develop all of Wind's activities - the cellular market, fixed-line and internet -, helping the company establish itself on the Italian market as an integrated telecom operator.
In a deal financed largely through debt, Weather Investment in August bought a 62.7% of Wind from the Italian electricity company ENEL (link here) . From the sale ENEL actually received 2.7 billion euro while Weather assumed some 7 billion euro in debt owed by Wind.
Orascom Telecom (OT) in June 2005 had more than 20 million subscribers. In Italy, Wind has fourteen million subscribers.
Its mother company, Orascom, is listed on Cairo & Alexandria Stock Exchange (CASE) (AmCham Member) (link here) and London's stock exchange (LSE) (link here) . At the September 12 press conference Sawiris declared that Wind would also be floated on the stock exchange - in Milan, Cairo or London - by the end of 2006.
OCI Plans Projects in Indonesia, Algeria & Dubai Source: AFX News Limited, September 12 & 26, 2005; Al Khaleej Newspaper, September 18, 2005
Egyptian cement producer and construction firm Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) (AmCham Member) (link here) plans to invest $375 million in building a cement plant on Java Island in Indonesia with a capacity of 2.5 million tons a year.
OCI will start the investment project as soon as it secures government approval. The country's largest cement producer PT Semen Gresik (link here) said earlier this year that Indonesia may suffer a shortage of cement in 2009, partly as aging cement plants would be less efficient amid higher fuel prices.
Moreover, Algerian Cement Company (ACC), a wholly owned subsidiary of OCI, and which is the largest cement producer in Algeria with an annual production capacity of 5 million tons, declared its intention to launch new investments in Algeria. ACC General Manager, Ayman Anis, said that Orascom is planning to set up a sand and ready-mixed ceramics factory, in addition to a huge joint venture with an Algerian public enterprise, by $50 million.
Finally, The Dubai Investment Group (DIG), a member of Dubai Holding LLC (link here), in partnership with OCI and the Government of the Emirate of Fujairah announced the establishment of Emirates Cement Company, which will construct a new state-of-the-art cement Greenfield plant with a total production capacity of 3 million tons per year in the Emirate of Fujairah.
The plant and the raw material quarries will be located in Fujairah. Construction work at the site is already underway and is expected to be completed in 24 months. OCI will be responsible for managing and operating the new plant.
Orascom Consortium Announces Dh2.9 Billion Red Sea Resort Source: AME Info, September 14, 2005
Orascom Hotels and Developments (link here), one of the largest corporations in the Middle East, has announced that it is leading a consortium to develop a Dh2.9 billion ($800m) resort, including the largest marina in Europe and the Middle East, on Egypt's Red Sea coast near Hurghada.
The project was unveiled for the first time globally at the Wafi Center, Dubai, and will be showcased to the public for the first time at the Cityscape Exhibition, which opens at the Dubai World Trade Center.
VeniceMarina, 18km from Hurghada International Airport, will be a 32 million square metre tourist resort featuring two 18-hole golf courses and 14 hotels. The development will offer freehold luxury apartments to investors with guaranteed returns from the developers.
The resort is being developed by Orascom, responsible for the famous El Gouna development, among many others, along with Egypt Resorts Company, which developed Sahl Hasheesh, the largest resort in Egypt, and Richland Group of Companies (link here) , South Africa's leading property and resort developers. Better Homes (link here) have been appointed as marketing and sales agents for Venice Marina.
Work has already begun on the development, which offers apartments ranging up to three-bedroom, two-bathroom luxury apartments. An easy payment plan spreads repayments evenly over the construction period.
Phase One, which is due for completion in December 2007, will include 1,850 units and will be nearest the resort's marina and piazza area.
Investors can also opt for a hotel investment whereby the hotel leases the apartment on their behalf to paying guests with a guaranteed return of 9% for the first three years. This option also enables the purchasers to enjoy the use their own apartment for up to six weeks per year.
Three Arab and International Companies to Explore for Oil in Egypt Source: The Egyptian State Information Service, September 24, 2005
Three Arab and international oil companies have been awarded concession rights to explore for oil in four zones in both the eastern and western deserts, South of the Nile Valley and the Gulf of Suez.
Chairman of the South Valley Holding Oil Company said that 13 Arab and international companies have submitted bids to operate in zones south of the valley.
He said that three companies from the UAE, Britain and Australia have been awarded concession rights to explore for oil in the Gulf of Suez, the Western desert and the area west of Komomobo.
Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmy said that well-studied plans were being carried out to achieve comprehensive development in the South of the Nile Valley area. He pointed out that stress was being placed on all oil-related activities including exploration and development of crude and gas production areas.
Two Oil Discoveries in the Mediterranean and Mansoura Source: The Egyptian State Information Service, September 17, 2005
Egypt achieved two important discoveries for oil and natural gas in the Mediterranean Sea and South Mansoura concession areas.
The first discovery was achieved by British Petroleum Company (AmCham Member) (link here) in its concession area in the Mediterranean Sea. The confirmed reserves of the first discovery will reach 5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
The latest international reports on energy affairs said that Egypt has become one of the major five countries in the world in the production and export of gas, as well as in gas reserves.
According to these reports, “the real size of gas reserves in Egypt is growing and exceeding the figures released by Egyptian companies which put it at 67 trillion cubic feet.”
Egypt is preparing a feasibility study for a $5 billion oil refinery and three new LNG trains, Petroleum Minister Sameh Fahmy told Bloomberg (link here) on September 14. He said the new refinery would be Egypt's largest and would be located on the north Mediterranean coast. The LNG trains are under discussion with ENI (link here) and BG (AmCham Member) (link here), he added.
Further Gas Contracts For Burgeoning Egyptian LNG Market Source: Contract News, September 20, 2005
Canadian independent Centurion Energy International (link here) is expanding its Egyptian presence through two new exploration concessions. The blocks should deliver an additional 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) by 2007, adding to the firm's current Egyptian production of some 25,000boe/d.
Centurion should therefore contribute to the expected dramatic increase in gas production from the African country - a surge that is needed to fuel various liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports schemes that have sprung up in Egypt. Egypt's energy industry is focused on gas projects, as the country is destined shortly to become a net importer of oil as a result of declining output and rising demand.
Much needs to be done to maintain gas exports later in the decade, especially luring foreign company investment with the country's gas potential. In May LNG exports to France began, boosting export revenues and providing an incentive for more investment.
Egypt & France Sign Exploration Agreement in the Mediterranean Sea Source: Mena News Agency, September 16, 2005
Gaz de France (link here) is to carry out explorations in an area of 1,361 square kilometers west of Lake Burullus in the Mediterranean Sea. The explorations for natural gas and oil will cost the company $22 million, as it will dig three wells over the coming eight years.
Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmy said the French company came to operate in Egypt for the first time encouraged by the good potentials for gas and oil findings in view of many international companies achieving high success rates in exploring for gas and oil in the Mediterranean Sea and the Western Desert.
On the other hand, liquefied natural gas will play an important role in Egyptian-French relations in the coming period as Egypt will export liquefied natural gas to France at a value of $500 million over the coming 20 years.
The Cashier of the Authority Presidium of the Alexandria Port Authority issued on September 27, 2005 a request for prequalification applications among specialized consultancy offices to extend the engineering services for the design, supervision of implementation of works for the comprehensive revamping of both Alexandria & Dekheila Ports. Required specializations include marine works, architectural works for establishments & open yards, soil mechanics, foundations & other construction works for buildings, roads & bridges, electrical, mechanical & electronic works. Deadline for the submission of offers is October 13, 2005.
Information Technology
The Technical Support Office of the Health Care Sector Reform Program of the Ministry of Health & Population issued on September 22, 2005 a request of offers from eligible bidders, as per World Bank guidelines & codes, to supply IT equipment for 106 health care facilities spread country wide in five lots under funding from IDA of the World Bank. Lot 1 includes 16 servers, 2,000 PCs & 5 Notebooks. Lot 2 includes 30 dot matrix printers & 30 network laser printers. Lot 3, for networking equipment, includes some 211 LAN switches 24 p type, 209 cabinets, 3,260 face plates, 211 patch panels, 111,200 meters cables, 47,120 ducts, 3,260 sets of 3 meters drop cables, 3,260 sets of 1 meter drop cables & one firewall. Lot 4 includes network virus scan & Lot 5 includes one 7 KVA capacity UPS & thirty-five 1,400 VA capacity UPS. The Specification Fee is LE1,000 and the Bid Bonds are LE170,000 & LE9,000 & LE48,000 & LE2,000. Deadline for the submission of offers is October 23, 2005.
Medical Equipment
The Stores & Supplies Department of the Cairo University Hospital issued on September 21, 2005 a request of offers for the supply of (a) requisites for different laboratories at the Internal Medicine Hospital, (b) filters, catheters & needles for the Artificial Kidney Unit, (c) operating chemicals for different instruments [Nova & Coulter], also (d) operating chemicals for other instruments. The specification fees are LE150 & LE200 & LE200 & LE200. The Bid Bonds are LE16,000 & 20,000 & LE20,000 & LE20,000. The Deadlines for the submission of offers are October14, 25, 26 & 30, 2005.
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