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| ROUND UP: The month at a glance |
CBE pledges no more devaluation:
Central Bank of Egypt governor Mahmoud Abul-Oyoun affirmed in September
that the CBE has no intention of devaluing the Egyptian pound in
the present situation. He reiterated the government’s earlier
promise to maintain the right of foreign investors to repatriate
money invested in Egypt.
Midor contract terminated:
The US-based Foster Wheeler Corporation will no longer operate the
Middle East Oil Refinery (Midor) after its $260 million contract,
signed in late 2000, was terminated last month. The refinery, which
has the capacity to process 100,000 barrels a day, started operations
in late 2001.
Tax revenues fall short:
General Tax Authority (GTA) chairman Talaat Hammam said that tax
revenues, which totaled £E 25 billion for fiscal year 2001/02,
fell short of GTA forecasts, which had put revenue at £E 29.6
billion. Corporate tax arrears reached £E 16 billion, including
£E 3 billion from public enterprises alone.
O.C.I. GDRs sold in London:
Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) global depository receipts
(GDRs) were sold on the London Stock Exchange for the first time
on September 4. OCI hopes the move will ease conditions for foreign
investors to buy its stock.
The GDRs, each representing two OCI shares, are fungible, meaning
that they can be easily converted into Egypt-listed stock.
WB to open Egypt office:
The World Bank (WB) will open a regional bureau in Egypt this month
to cater to Egypt, Algeria and other North African countries, WB
regional director Sami Hadad said in September. One program, he
said, would provide technical aid to medium and small private sector
companies in North Africa. In related news, the WB also plans to
spend $1.4 million to conduct a series of studies on the social,
fiscal and health sectors in Egypt.
Summer tourism way up:
Tourism Minister Mamdouh El Beltagui said that August 2002 had been
the best month ever in Egypt’s tourism history, with Egypt
hosting 574,000 visitors, up 15 percent from August 2001. More specifically,
tourist arrivals were up 11.4 percent, while tourist nights rose
21.1 percent compared to a year earlier.
Ebeid gives SMEs a break:
In an effort to help the country’s small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) develop their international market share, Prime Minister
Atef Ebeid said in late August that the government would allocate
10 percent of its budget to purchase goods and services from SMEs.
The government, he added, could introduce tax holidays for small
enterprises.
Work to start on Terminal 3:
Construction of a new £E 1.3 billion terminal at Cairo International
Airport, Terminal 3, will begin within two months, Minister of Civil
Aviation Ahmed Shafik announced in September.
Telecom agreements signed:
The Ministry of Communications & Information Technology and
Siemens International signed two agreements worth †144 million
($141.5 million) in September to modernize the telecom sector’s
infrastructure. The investment aims to reel in †240 million
($235.8 million) worth of export revenues over five years.
T.E. to start third network:
Telecom Egypt (TE) chairman Akil Beshir said the company had submitted
a request to the General Authority for Investment & Free Zones
to establish Egypt’s third telecom network, worth £E
200 million. Beshir said a tranche would be publicly offered on
the stock exchange but would not exceed 49 percent of TE’s
total shares.
Heineken to buy ABC:
Heineken International announced a bid to buy up 100 percent of
Al Ahram Beverages Company (ABC), at a share price of $14. The offer
– conditional upon Heineken’s receipt of selling orders
representing not less than 76 percent of the company’s total
shares – was to be executed on September 29, but as of press
time looked like it might be delayed amid concerns about insider
trading.
Free Internet for all:
The Ministry of Communications & Information Technology has
promised to make the Free Internet service available to all of Egypt
by 2003. Ministry figures indicate that since the service was introduced
in 16 governorates in mid-January, 100,000 new users had logged
on each month. Free Internet allows people to surf the Internet
from home computers for the cost of a local phone call.
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