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| ROUND UP: The month at a glance |
EGYPT-U.S. TRADE INCREASES:
According to a report published by the Egyptian Trade Organization
in Washington, DC, US investments in Egypt increased by 25 percent
last year, reaching $2.735 billion. The report said that the increase
was due to concerted efforts by authorities and steps taken by the
Egyptian government to offer incentives to encourage investors.
E-COMMERCE TAX RULES:
Specific regulations for e-commerce will be included in new tax
regulations, now in the draft stage. The head of the Tax Authority,
Talaat Hammam, confirmed that the new tax law would be referred
to the People’s Assembly soon, possibly before the end of 2001.
GOING INTO ORBIT:
Egypt’s first intelligence satellite will be manufactured and
launched by the Ukrainian design office Pivdenne. The new satellite
will contain a high-resolution scanner able to take high-quality
pictures of the Middle East. Pivdenne will also build a surface
control center and train Egyptian engineers to design smaller satellites.
EGYPTIAN-PALESTINIAN CHAMBER ESTABLISHED:
An agreement has been signed between Egyptians and Palestinians
to establish a Palestinian-Egyptian Economic Chamber. The organization
has been established amid heavy economic pressure on the Palestinian
economy due to the ongoing uprising against Israeli occupation forces.
The new chamber’s first order of business will be to set up
a permanent exhibition booth in each country.
PAYING BACK HIS DEBTS:
Al Alam Al Youm reported on September 10 that Lakah Group CEO Ramy
Lakah had said he would repay £E 500 million of his debts
within five weeks, with the remainder to be repaid with Lakah Group
assets which exceed the value of debts. The reports also said the
company would buy back its shares on the bourse within six weeks,
but the repurchase price remained undisclosed.
PRIVATIZATIONS:
After a meeting with Prime Minister Atef Ebeid, Minister of Information
Safwat Sharif announced that the government intends to privatize
a 15-percent stake of Telecom Egypt, 15 percent of the country’s
electricity-distribution companies and 40 percent of petroleum-distribution
companies in order to increase government revenues. Additionally,
an unnamed Spanish company is rumored to have offered £E 2
billion for a 20-percent stake in the Egyptian Electricity Distribution
Company, the infrastructure of which it intends to modernize.
NEW MORTGAGE LAW AUTHORITY:
President Hosni Mubarak issued a decree establishing a General Authority
for Real Estate Mortgage. The authority is to be in charge of enforcing
the Real Estate Mortgage Law approved by the People’s Assembly
in June 2001 as well as granting mortgage companies licenses to
start activities.
TENSIONS RAISE GAS PRICES:
Petroleum prices increased on September 14 to $28.98/barrel, compared
to $28.37/barrel the day before. Prices have been affected by anxiety
following September 11 terror attacks on New York and Washington,
with US officials hinting at a large-scale military reaction and
the Taliban regime issuing warnings of revenge if the United States
attacks Afghanistan.
CREDIT CARDS ON THE RISE:
The number of Visa credit card holders in Egypt has increased by
35 percent since 1999 to reach 257,000. The same period saw 3.64
million transactions worth a total of $833.4 million (£E 3.25
billion).
EGYPT BOND UPGRADE:
JP Morgan has upgraded the relative weight of Egyptian bonds in
its portfolio by 150 basis points, while increasing its relative
importance to 2.5 percent from a low of one percent. The changes
were made because Egypt is viewed as a less risky emerging market,
unlike Turkey and Mexico, both of which were downgraded.
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