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| ROUND UP: The month at a glance |
Tourism rally holds
In September, for the fourth consecutive month, tourism figures
saw year-on-year growth, when 572,000 tourists visited Egypt –
a 15-percent jump from the same month last year.
Heineken eyes all of ABC
In October, Netherlands-based brewer Heineken made an offer to buy
the outstanding 2.2-percent stake in Al-Ahram Beverages, in which
it acquired a 97.8-percent stake last year, for $280 million. Al-Ahram
is the only brewery group in Egypt, with beer volume of around 430,000
hectoliters.
Pakistan, Egypt talk tech
At a meeting between Pakistani and Egyptian officials in Cairo in
October, the two countries established a fund to finance joint research
and development projects in a broad range of science and technology
fields, such as biotechnology, the use of nuclear technology in
agriculture and medicine and pharmaceutical sciences.
Smugglers nabbed
In early October, police busted an international ring of antiquities
smugglers. The gang – including 15 Egyptians and one Lebanese
– reportedly smuggled at least 300 ancient artifacts to Europe
before Egyptian investigators arrested them. Authorities are hunting
for 12 other smugglers of Swiss, German, Canadian and Kenyan background.
Cairo looks to Syrian grain
In October, Egypt agreed to import 150,000 tons of Syrian wheat
in an effort to boost the country’s reserves. Egypt, one of
the world’s largest wheat importers, buys around 7 million
tons of wheat each year, mostly from the US.
Textiles trade to U.S. jumps
Minister of Foreign Trade Youssef Boutros-Ghali said in October
that textile and garment exports to the US had witnessed a 22-percent
year-on-year increase in the first half of 2003, amounting to $282
million.
New archaeologists banned
In an attempt to preserve Egypt’s ancient monuments, the Supreme
Council of Antiquities announced in late September a 10-year moratorium
on new foreign archaeological expeditions in southern Egypt. There
are already 300 foreign expeditions in the country, mostly concentrated
in the archaeologically rich south, including Luxor, Karnak and
the Valley of the Kings.
Enter smart MasterCards, Visas
Commercial International Bank and the Arab African International
bank launched Egypt’s first chip-based “smart” credit
cards in late September. Visa and MasterCard are migrating from
magnetic strip cards to smart cards, which are more secure.
U.S. grants fallout aid
Egypt can expect $300 million in supplementary aid from the US to
offset the economic repercussions of the US-led war in Iraq. Egypt
receives $1.8 billion annually in civilian and military assistance
from the US.
Suez Cement profits down
Despite the growing export potential of local cement companies,
Suez Cement in October reported a 38-percent drop in year-on-year
net profits for the first half of 2003 to £E 32.39 million.
subsidies budget burgeons
The draft 2004/05 national budget is poised to include a substantial
increase in subsidies, largely to cope with the rising cost of importing
staple foods. The current budget sets aside £E 9.6 billion
to finance subsidies, 32 percent higher than the amount allotted
to subsidies in the last budgetary year.
Red Sea resort made official
October saw the official inauguration of the $1.2 billion Marsa
Alam tourist resort on southern Egypt’s Red Sea coast, which
includes luxury hotels, private residences, shops and two marinas
with dual capacity for 1,000 yachts. Marsa Alam is also home to
a private airport.
Czechs, Saudis invest in sugar
Czechoslovakia-based Technoexport signed a $92.83 million contract
in mid-October to build a sugar beet processing factory in Port
Said, capable of processing 7,000 tons of sugar a day. The Saudi
Savola Company is also planning to build a sugar refinery in Ain
Al Sokhna. Local consumption of sugar is around 2.2 million tons
a year, 1.4 million tons of which is produced locally.
Sentence overturned
An Egyptian appeals court in October overturned the conviction and
prison sentence of a Libyan businessman accused of assaulting Saudi
foreign minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal at a Cairo hotel in early
September, when Arab foreign ministers were attending an Arab League
meeting.
Terminal draws turnout
Thirty-three international firms are bidding for a $350 million
contract to build a third terminal at Cairo International Airport.
The World Bank is poised to cover 70 percent of the project’s
costs, or $350 million, while the National Investment Bank will
finance the remaining 30 percent.
Manuscripts online
Following months of delay, the Al-Azhar mosque – a revered
center for Islamic learning – has launched Al-Azhar online
(www.alazharonline.org), giving Internet users access to some of
the world’s oldest and rarest Islamic manuscripts. The $5 million
project features the digital conversion of over 42,000 manuscripts,
some of which date back over 1,400 years.
Citizenship granted half-breeds
Egyptian women married to foreigners would be permitted to pass
Egyptian nationality to their offspring, President Hosni Mubarak
decreed in late September. Such children can automatically receive
nationality by birth, as long as they come of age and reside in
Egypt on a permanent basis for 10 years. The Ministry of Interior
has reportedly received thousands of applications already.
CASE lifts another ceiling
The Cairo & Alexandria Stock Exchanges on October 16 added the
Egyptian Kuwaiti Holding Company (EKHO) to the group of stocks that
can be traded without a price ceiling.
GDP misses target
Central Bank of Egypt figures show that 2002/03 GDP grew at a rate
of 3.1 percent – higher than last year’s 2 percent, but
shy of the government’s target of 4.5 percent. Unofficial estimates
put 2002/03 GDP at £E 393 billion, a 23-percent drop from
the 2001/02 level, reflecting the massive depreciation of the local
currency since January’s controlled flotation.
Copts push for seats
In October, Pope Shenouda III said the Coptic Christian population
should be better represented in parliament, where only two of the
People’s Assembly’s 444 elected members are Copts.
Exports, imports rise
According to official statistics, export receipts rose to £E
18.15 billion in the first half of 2003, 66.7 percent higher than
the same period last year. The same period also saw imports rise
by 12 percent to £E 30.57 billion.
More metal exported
Exports of metallurgical products reached £E 2 billion during
the 2002/03 fiscal year, a 53.8-percent year-on-year climb, president
of the Holding Company for Mining & Refractories Adel El-Danf
said in October.
EGPC to pipe to Israel
The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) announced in late
September that it was ready to supply Israel Electric Company with
7 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually for 20 years via
a submarine pipeline from Al-Arish. Talks between Egypt and Israel
on gas supplies started in April 2000, but were quickly put on the
back burner due to heightening regional tension.
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