| ROUND UP: The month at a glance |
Egyptian PC market expands
The PC market in Egypt rebounded in 2003 with unit shipments jumping
by more than 31 percent after several years of treading water. Local
assemblers controlled most of the Egyptian PC market last year,
although name-brand manufacturers were also sought after.
U.S. firms push for Mideast FTA
Top US corporations have formed a coalition to lobby for a US-Middle
East Free Trade Agreement (MEFTA) proposed by President George W.
Bush in 2003. The group includes Boeing, Booz Allen Hamilton, ChevronTexaco,
Dow, ExxonMobil, Intel, JR McDermott, Motorola and PhRMA. In the
Middle East, the US has free trade agreements with Morocco, Israel
and Jordan.
Consumer confidence retreats
The bi-annual MasterCard International MasterIndex of Consumer Confidence
survey rated consumer confidence in Egypt at 37.0, down from 43.2
during the previous period. The survey analyzes consumer perceptions
of economic conditions over the next six months and bases its scores
on five variables: employment, economy, regular income, stock market
and quality of life.
PM: Egypt must invest $5 billion in economy
Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif told government newspaper Al-Ahram in
October that Egypt must invest an additional $5 billion a year in
order to achieve the government’s target growth rate of 6 percent.
He stated the country needed to invest a total of $16.2 billion
a year to achieve the growth target. According to Nazif, current
annual investments amount to $11.3 billion, which, he said, “is
not enough to attain the required growth rate.”
Petrojet nabs Libyan pipeline deal
Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmi announced that Egyptian Petrojet
has won a lucrative tender to set up a pipeline linking wells in
the south of Libya to its north coast ports. Five foreign firms
competed with Petrojet on the e99 million project.
No change for rail fares
National Railway Authority chairman Eid Abdel Qader has announced
that rail fares will remain at current levels in line with government
policy to serve the interests of low-income groups. Abdel Qader
also revealed that by the end of 2006, all second- and third-class
rolling stock will have been upgraded at a cost of £E 250
million.
WB: Egypt faces growing pains
The World Bank stressed in a recent report Egypt’s need to
increase GDP growth and improve the investment climate by removing
obstacles to trade. According to the report, 90 percent of firms
complained about the gap between government policies and reality.
Ugandan coffee to hit store shelves
An Egyptian investor and the Ugandan government have signed a $500
million coffee export and processing venture. The Uganda Coffee
Development Authority (UCDA) will own 60 percent of the new company
while 40 percent will be reserved for Uganda-Egypt Coffee Manufacturing
Company (UECMC). UECMC is expected to export 50 tons of coffee monthly
and a coffee processing factory has been set up in Egypt.
Egyptian companies sign Chinese contracts
Egyptian companies recently signed 22 contracts worth $922 million
with a business delegation from South China’s Guangdong province
during a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif. The trade
volume between the two countries exceeded $1 billion last year.
Bilateral trade reached $871 million at the end of July 2004, a
49.8-percent increase over the same period last year.
Egypt eyes UK wheat
Representatives from the UK grain industry met their Egyptian counterparts
during a seminar on the viability of processing UK wheat in Egyptian
mills. Egypt is the second largest wheat buyer in the world, with
annual imports of 5 million to 7 million tons. It currently relies
on the US, Australia and France to meet the majority of its requirements.
I.T. firms shine at GITEX
Thirty leading Egyptian companies presented a complete picture of
the country’s IT industry at GITEX 2004. National initiatives,
government presence, promoting IT, hardware and software development,
and IT services and applications were among the subjects prioritized
at the Egyptian pavilion.
Frankfurt fair spotlights Arab culture
The annual Frankfurt Book Fair gave 300,000 visitors an opportunity
to browse thousands of Arab books, manuscripts and cultural materials.
The five-day fair included an entire floor devoted to Arab literature.
EU earmarks e64 million for Sinai development
According to European Union officials, the EU is to finance a e64
million development project in southern Sinai in addition to previously
financed projects worth e23 million. Officials from the European
Commission and the Egyptian government met in Sharm Al-Sheikh to
discuss aspects of the project, including the environment, cultural
heritage and social development.
Cairo University adds Chinese curriculum
China’s vice-minister of education, Yuan Guiren, recently inaugurated
the Chinese Department at Cairo University, pledging further educational
cooperation between the two countries. As China’s economic
and political clout grows, the Chinese language has become increasingly
popular among Egyptian students.
Jordan eases market access
Jordan has granted Egyptian products unrestricted access to its
markets in a move to boost trade relations between the two Arab
states. Following an Egyptian-Jordanian trade forum in October,
the two countries said the agreement would enhance bilateral relations
and remove obstacles to trade exchange, which amounted to $136.6
million in 2003, of which Egyptian exports accounted for $112.6
million.
Mutual fund offers moral dividends
Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt and EFG-Hermes recently announced the
inauguration of the first Egyptian Islamic fund to invest in Sharia-compliant
companies. The fund’s initial size is £E 50 million distributed
over 500,000 certificates with a par value of £E 100. The
minimum subscription to the fund is £E 1,000, open to both
institutional and retail investors.
EIB pledges to support private sector
The European Investment Bank, the EU’s financing arm, is allocating
e60 million in global loans to bolster the private sector in Egypt
under the Euro-Mediterranean Investment & Partnership (FEMIP)
agreement. The funds will be channeled through major Egyptian partner
banks to small and medium-sized private sector projects in industry,
services, tourism and agro-food.
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