PAKISTAN AND EGYPT SEEK TO STRENGTHEN ECONOMIC TIES Source: Gulfnews, Pakistanlink, Pak Tribune, Khaleejtimes.com, Yahoo! Finance, December 16, 2006
Pakistan and Egypt signed four Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) pertaining to promotion of ties in the fields of trade, economy and investment and resolved to enhance volume of bilateral trade on Friday, December 15. The Joint Economic Mission of two countries after three days of meetings reached the consensus to set up a Joint Business Council (JBC) between the Federations of Chambers of Commerce of the two countries. Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri and his Egyptian counterpart Ahmad Abul Gheit were also present on the occasion.
The four MoUs include formation of Pak-Egypt Joint Business Council, program of cultural exchange from 2006-10, promotion of the cooperation of foreign services academy and elimination of visa for the diplomatic passport holders.
On the occasion, Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri told reporters that the JBC would help promote economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. In this connection, he said that the meeting of the JBC must be held regularly to enhance the volume of bilateral trade. He added that Pakistan had keen interest in intensifying collaboration with Egypt in various sectors including commerce, investment, infrastructure, information technology, education and agriculture.
The Egyptian foreign minister said that his country wanted to enhance cooperation with Pakistan in all sectors. He invited Pakistani businessmen to invest in pharmaceutical and textile sectors in Egypt.
The two sides agreed to convene the third session of Pak-Egypt Joint Commission in Cairo in December 2007. The first meeting of the commission was held in December 1995 in Cairo.
$200 MILLION FROM WB FOR DEVELOPMENT IN UPPER EGYPT Source: ANSAmed, December 15, 2006
The World Bank (AmCham Member) (link here) has allocated a $200 million loan for improvement of infrastructures in the rural areas of the Southern governorates of Upper Egypt.
The rural areas include villages in Assiut, El Menia, Beni Sueif, Sohag and Al Fayoum. The loan will be carried out in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Economic Development (link here). A senior official at the WB in Cairo said the project will take five years to be implemented starting from January 2008. "It will provide support for government-run services to bridge the gap of services quality between urban and rural Egypt in the south," the official said.
GOVERNMENT TO FIGHT INFLATION & RAISE LIVING STANDARDS IN 2007 Source: Al-Ahram, Al-Alam al-Yom, December 20, 2006
The Egyptian government will work in the coming year to reduce inflation and increase real per capita GDP, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said in a statement to parliament. It will also work to improve the standard of living and the quality of services in areas such as education, health and housing, said Nazif, who was outlining his government’s achievements in 2006 and its plans for the coming year. According to Nazif, the government has allocated LE 5 billion to develop railways and LE 9 billion to restructure public companies and create more jobs. Clean water will be provided to all parts of the country this year, said Nazif, who was speaking at the start of a new parliamentary session. The government considers inflation a challenge and expects it will decline next year, he said.
Reforms of the Nazif government, introduced since it took office in June 2004 have helped boost foreign direct investment to $6.1 billion in FY2005/2006 from $2.1 in FY2003/2004. Egypt has already received FDI of $3.24 billion in 1Q2006/2007, indicating that it could reach $8 billion by the end of 2007.
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION JUMPS 7.2%, OUTPACING REAL GDP Source: Al-Ahram, December 18, 2006
Industrial production rose 7.2% in 1Q2006/07, said Trade and Industry Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid. This was faster than real GDP, which grew by only 7.1% in the same period. Rachid hopes to increase industrial growth to 9%, create 1.5 million jobs in industry, increase investments in industry to LE 175 billion and increase industrial exports to LE 42 billion from the current LE 18 billion in the next four years.
THE SOCIAL FUND HELPS SOLVE 9,000 PROBLEMS FOR SMES Source: Al-Ahram, December 26, 2006
The government Social Fund (link here) has helped solve 9,000 problems faced by small enterprises under distress, said the fund's head, Sani Seif El Nasr. The fund has facilitated bank credits, extended grace periods and exempted companies from financial liabilities in special cases. He added that the fund allocates LE 500 million a year to finance and encourage small enterprises and has encouraged banks to extend specialized loans to different sectors and enlarge their small projects loan portfolio.
KUWAIT AND EGYPT SIGN SEVEN AGREEMENTS ON BILATERAL COOPERATION Source: kuna.net, December 17, 2006
Egypt and Kuwait signed on Sunday, December 17, seven memoranda of understanding covering joint cooperation in the transport, justice, youth, sports, tourism, culture, and environment sectors. The signing ceremony took place on the sidelines of the 6th session of the Egyptian-Kuwaiti supreme committee meetings. The two countries agreed to cooperate in the youth and sports fields and initialed executive programs on tourism, cultural and environment protection cooperation for the years 2007-2009.
EGYPT AND LIBYA BOOST TRADE TIES Source: AFP, Yahoo! News, mathaba.net, Africast, AngolaPress, December 21, 2006
Egypt and Libya signed 18 agreements and protocols in a bid to strengthen bilateral ties in the fields of trade, tourism and education. The agreements were signed after a session of the joint Egyptian-Libyan high committee by Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and his Libyan counterpart Baghdadi Mahmudi.
One agreement provides for the creation of a free trade zone between the two countries. The whole package is aimed mainly at lifting customs barriers and boosting multi-sector cooperation.
"The coming period will witness increased cooperation between Egypt and Libya in various fields," said Nazif, adding that the private sector would play an important part in the process. Baghdadi said Libya would pour around $175 million into the Egyptian market in 2007, in exchange for which Egyptian companies would be given priority in Libyan development projects.
Meanwhile, Libya and Egypt have recently signed a memorandum of understanding that would promote military co-operation between the two countries. The co-operation document was signed by General Aboubaker Younes Jaber for Libya and Egyptian armed forces general commander, General Hussein Tantaoui.
SATYAM ENTERS EGYPT Source: ITP Technology, December 14, 2006
Satyam (link here) is expanding into the Egyptian market. The New York-quoted global consulting and IT services outfit has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Government of Egypt to establish a 300-seat global development center in Smart Village, Cairo (link here). The new center will serve as a technical development and software support facility for Satyam’s Middle East customer base. B. Ramalinga Raju, Satyam’s founder and chairman, said: “The government of Egypt has prepared the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. The infrastructure is tremendous, the resource pool is talented and the corporate base is thriving in business opportunities. In short, Egypt is ideal for a sink and source strategy. While the Egyptian engineers’ specialized skills can be leveraged for better software delivery to our customers globally, the domestic market would offer ample opportunities for business generation”.
RAYA, THIRD PLACE WINNER OF 'ORACLE EGYPT PARTNER OF THE YEAR' AWARD Source: AMEinfo, December 16, 2006
Raya Corporation (AmCham Member) (link here), one of the Middle East's largest IT and telecommunications companies, has been declared the third place winner of the 'Oracle (AmCham Member) (link here) Egypt Partner of the Year' award for the year 2006 in recognition of its competence, expertise and outstanding performance.
Raya won the award along with two other players in the Egyptian market. The award is Oracle's initiative for recognizing the impressive ongoing accomplishments of its partners worldwide. Winning an 'Oracle Partner of the Year' award poses a tough challenge and requires significant certification and expertise in Oracle technologies and business applications, which Raya was able to demonstrate. The firm has a strong track record of implementing Oracle-based projects for important clients including Bavaria (AmCham Member) (link here), Mobinil (AmCham Member) (link here), Telecom Egypt (link here), Egyptian LNG, Egypt's National Société Générale Bank (NSGB) (AmCham Member) (link here), Coca Cola (AmCham Member) (link here), Algeria’s Consortium Algerien de Telecommunications (CAT), Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Water & Electricity (link here), Abd Allah Hashem Co. (Honda) and Mobily (link here).
EGYPT'S IT EXPORTS TO HIT $1 BILLION IN 4 YEARS Source: MENAFN, ANSAmed, Daily Star Egypt, December 16, 2006
Egyptian IT sector exports are on track to reach $1 billion (LE 5.71 billion) by 2010 up from their current $700 million, announced Gamal Aly, Chairman of the government's Software Engineering Competence Center (SECC) (link here). The IT expert stated that his country is preparing an expansion plan to extend its presence in the Middle East, Africa and the Gulf.
Aly's comments came upon his return from the annual Dubai Gitex Expo (link here), a convention bringing together the largest regional and global IT companies. He added that the SECC participated in Dubai's Gitex 2006 expo in an attempt to present its services outside the domain of the local market.
Current IT exports, mostly represented in services such as call centers, account for about $700 million (LE 4 billion) or about 6% of total exports. In 2006, IT sector performance was boosted by several events: the entrance of British telecom giant, Orange (link here), into the market with plans to establish its first call center in the Middle East and the first visit of Microsoft (AmCham Member) (link here) CEO Steve Ballmer to announce two new projects in cooperation with governmental and non-governmental entities.
VODAFONE, BIGGER EGYPTIAN STAKE Source: AMEinfo, December 23, 2006
Vodafone (link here) is planning to increase its stake in Vodafone Egypt (AmCham Member) (link here) from 50.1% to 55%. The telecom operator is prepared to spend around $200 million in order to strengthen its position in Egypt as emerging markets become increasingly significant with revenue growth slowing in its core European business. Meanwhile, the firm is also looking to sell its 25% stake in Swisscom (link here) for up to $3.2 billion.
INTEL UNVEILS EGYPT'S FIRST 'DIGITAL VILLAGE' Source: Technologynewsdaily.com, Business Wire, AMEinfo, TradeArabia, Daily Star Egypt, December 19, 2006
Intel Corporation (AmCham Member) (link here) is using computers and wireless technology to help Oseem's 200,000 residents tap into vast "knowledge resources" on the Internet as part of its World Ahead Program in hopes of bettering their lives. Working with Egypt's government, business and education leaders, Intel installed a state-of-the-art WiMAX network to connect two public schools, a health care center on wheels, a municipal building and an e-government services kiosk. Intel also donated and installed computers in the mobile health center and PC labs at the two schools where students and teachers can regularly connect to the outside world for the first time. The WiMAX wireless infrastructure in Oseem has an extended transmitting range of up to 30 kilometers. WiMAX is designed to be a less costly and more efficient way to deliver Internet connectivity to cities and remote areas.
To extend the reach of technology to benefit students, Intel pledged to donate 8,000 PCs to Egypt's schools. The PCs will be equipped with educational software supported by the Ministry of Education (link here) and Microsoft XP Professional Edition, Microsoft Office 2003 Small Business Edition and Learning Essentials software donated by Microsoft Corporation (AmCham Member) (link here). Intel also plans to train 650,000 teachers in Egypt by 2010 on how to apply technology to enhance classroom learning with 54,000 teachers trained to date.
Meanwhile, Intel’s Platform Definition Center and local software content innovator Dar Al Rasm Al Othmani have recently jointly developed a wireless digital Quran and Islamic encyclopedia that will be available in 40 different languages making it useable across the world. Eden Creek is an Ultra Mobile Device based on Intel’s newly announced family of LPIA processors. It contains the Holy Quran, audio recitations in 40 different languages, 100 different interactive Quran explanations, 500,000 religious science pages as well as 3-5 million pages dedicated to ‘Omahat Al Kotob’ historical books.
INDIA’S RELIANCE, MALAYSIA’S MAXIS, EGYPT’S ORASCOM BID FOR HUTCHISON Source: AFX News Limited, December 15, 2006
Reliance Communications (link here), Malaysia's Maxis Communications (link here) and Egypt's Orascom Telecom (link here) have bid to buy Hutchison Essar Ltd, the Indian joint venture of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd (link here). It is estimated that Hutchison Essar is valued at as much as $14 billion. The lead bankers arranging financing for the purchase are ABN Amro (link here), Standard Chartered (link here) and Citibank (AmCham Member) (link here).
CHINESE CHEMICAL GIANT TO SET UP ITS FIRST FACTORY IN EGYPT Source: AFP, Noozz, Daily Star Egypt, December 19, 2006
China's top chemical company has signed a deal to set up its first factory in Egypt, which aims to become the Asian giant's launch pad for investments in Africa and the Middle East. The National Bank of Egypt (AmCham Member) (link here) signed a memorandum of understanding with the China National Chemical Engineering Company (CNCEC) on Sunday, December 17, for the establishment of a soda-ash factory in Fayyoum, south of Cairo. The chemical is primarily used in glass manufacturing. The deal marks "CNCEC's first entry into both the Egyptian market and the Middle East," the Egyptian Trade Ministry (link here) said in a statement. On his first visit to Egypt, the CNCEC chairman also agreed on setting up a committee with the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum (link here) to assess a number of oil-refinement projects in Egypt and Africa. "This deal is one result of the sustained efforts by Egypt to strengthen and deepen its economic ties with China," Egyptian Trade Minister Rachid Mohammed Rachid said. Egypt is in talks with China and Italy aimed at ensuring that close to 100 percent of Chinese exports to Europe pass through the Suez Canal - up from the current 60% - in exchange for lower transit fees.
UKRAINE AND EGYPT SIGN OIL EXPLORATION AGREEMENT Source: Arabicnews.com, Earthtimes.org, December 16, 2006
Egypt's Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmi signed on Wednesday, December 13, with the Chairman of the Naftogaz Ukrainy (link here) national joint-stock company, Oleksiy Ivchenko, a cooperation agreement on oil exploration in Egypt, with total investments of $30 million. Egyptian Oil Minister Sameh Fahmi said the Ukrainian firm will spend $30 million on the survey of the field, which has an area of 376 square miles. The concession agreement is for 27 years.
Chairman of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) Taha Abdel-Halim and the Ukrainian Ambassador in Cairo attended the signing ceremony. Under the agreement, the Ukrainian company will carry out gas and oil exploration works in a 974 square-kilometer area in Alam Al-Shawish in the western Desert along with commitment of digging 12 wells and paying $7 million in a signature grant.
BP EGYPT TO INVEST $5 BILLION IN LOCAL ENERGY INDUSTRY Source: Noozz, December 20, 2006
British Petroleum (BP) (AmCham Member) (link here) plans to invest as much as $5 billion in the Egyptian oil industry over the next five year, increasing the total value of the company’s investments in Egypt to $20 billion.
The British company's plan was disclosed by Hisham Mekkawy, the General Manager of BP in Egypt, during a meeting of the energy committee at the Egyptian Young Businessmen Association (EYBA) in Cairo. “After 43 years of operation in the Egyptian energy industry, BP is now responsible for more than 40% of the country’s total oil production,” Mekkawy said. He pointed out that BP investments in the local oil industry amounted to $15 billion, making the company the largest foreign investor in Egypt.
Mekkawy asserted that BP would invest the $5 billion in gas exploration and development efforts over the next five years and to increase its market share by development of recent discoveries in the Eastern Delta region.
EUROPEAN BANK TO INVEST IN GAS LINE PROJECT Source: Xinhua, December 23, 2006
The European Investment Bank (EIB) (link here) has joined a group of investors to finance Egypt's south-bound gas pipeline with a 50 million Euro loan.
Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmi confirmed the news after the EIB and the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (link here) signed an agreement to finance a 115-km-long gas pipeline between Minia and Assuit, which will be extended to its south.
Egypt is planning to extend the gas pipeline to the southern governorates of Suhag, Qena and Aswan, said Fahmi.
EIB vice-president Philippe de Fontaine Vive said petroleum plays an important role in the Egyptian economy, as the oil and gas sector is one of Egypt's major foreign currency earners.
GOVERNMENT TO ALLOW PRIVATE COMPANIES TO DISTRIBUTE POWER ON STATE GRID Source: EFG-Hermes, December 19, 2006
The government will allow private companies that build new power plants to distribute their electricity on the national grid, Electricity and Energy Minister Hassan Younes said during a parliamentary debate on the restructuring of the government’s power companies. A draft bill would shut down the state Rural Electricity Authority and merge its assets with existing electricity distribution companies within five years. The expansion of national electricity coverage has made the authority no longer necessary, Younes said, adding that electricity now reaches 99% of all villages. He called on private companies to invest in new plants.
Investors in industrial zones recently warned that Egypt’s present energy capacity is not enough to meet the expansion of industry and that an energy shortage could develop. The government recently suspended the licenses of a number of energy intensive projects, they added. Government electricity subsidies are one of the biggest expenditures in the state budget. The government recently established a national energy council to review Egypt’s energy resources and study their current and future use in Egypt and abroad.
THIRD STAGE OF ARAB GAS PIPELINE UNDERWAY Source: Al-Ahram, EFG-Hermes, December 26, 2006
A pipeline that will transport Egyptian natural gas to a Syrian power plant will be completed by the fourth quarter of 2007, Syria's minister of petroleum Sufian Al Alawi announced after discussions with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Fahmi. The Arab Gas Pipeline's third phase will run 324 km from the Jordan-Syria border to Homs in Syria. The first two phases that brought the pipeline to Syria's border with Jordan were completed by Egyptian companies and financed by Arab funds and institutions, said Fahmy. The first phase, completed in June 2003, transports 1.1 billion cubic meters of Egyptian natural gas from Al-Arish in Egypt to Al-Aqaba in Jordan, while the second phase, completed in December 2005, runs from Al-Aqaba to Al-Rehab near the Jordan-Syria border. Egypt hopes to extend the pipeline to Turkey in early 2008 and from there eventually to Europe. It also hopes to extend the pipeline from Syria to Lebanon and Cyprus.
GERMANY TO LEND EGYPT 164 MILLION EURO TO BUILD ASYUT POWER PLANT Source: Al-Alam-Al-Yom, December 18, 2006
Germany has agreed to lend Egypt 164 million euro to finance construction of a hydroelectric power plant in the Asyut governorate. The 32 MW plant will be able to produce 243 million KWH of electricity, equivalent to 50,000 tons of oil, according to Electricity and Energy Minister Hassan Younes. It will help reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 120,000 tons annually, he added. The loan agreement was signed on Monday, December 18.
BLOM BANK EGYPT EXPANDS INTO BROKERAGE ACTIVITIES Source: Noozz, December 17, 2006
Blom Bank Egypt (link here) has concluded its acquisition of the Investia brokerage firm (AmCham Member) (link here) in Egypt and re-launched the company as Blom Securities, according to Saad Al-Azhari, the bank’s chairman. He said that the bank’s takeover of a large brokerage firm in Egypt was part of its strategy to expand in the financial market after acquisition of Misr Romania Bank in a deal valued at LE 591 million.
“The bank will also focus on retail banking services, especially personal loans, auto purchases and housing lending,” he added. Blom Bank Egypt is 99% owned by one of the largest Lebanese financial groups. The bank has eight branches in Egypt and five in Romania.
CMA PLANS NEW RULES FOR BONDS, DERIVATIVES, FUNDS AND IPOS IN 2007 Source: Al-Alam al-Yom, December 24, 2006
The Capital Market Authority (CMA) (link here) plans to introduce new regulations in 2007 to govern four areas of the securities market, its chairman Hani Sarie-El Din said. The first concerns new rules for repurchase agreements and short selling of government bonds, part of the government’s strategy to develop the market for government and corporate bonds as a whole. The second area is the derivatives market, including options and futures. The third is the establishment and managing of funds and portfolios, and the fourth is private placements and IPOs. A new law governing acquisitions that aims to protect minority shareholder rights will be ready by the second week of January.
EXPORT DEVELOPMENT BANK TO INCREASE FACILITATED LOANS Source: Noozz, December 25, 2006
The Egyptian Export Development Bank is mulling over a proposal to increase its facilitated credit to exporters and to cut interest rates in order to encourage export-oriented industries, said the Bank chairman Hisham Hassan.
He said that the bank has developed a plan to increase credit facilities for labor intensive industries that are mainly directed to international markets.
He added that the Export Development Bank focuses on financing exports of textiles and food industries as well as exports of farm products.
The bank expects 25% growth in its new budget for fiscal year 2006-2007. Hassan said the bank has allocated a large chunk of its funds to finance exporters in the textiles industry, including projects qualified under the QIZ agreement.
For non-performing loans, Hassan said the bank would investigate all cases of loan defaulters to develop a strategy for cleaning up the bank's loan portfolio and to pump more investments in successful projects.
ARAB INVESTOR OFFERS TO PURCHASE 35% OF SUEZ STEEL Source: Noozz, December 21, 2006
The Suez Steel Company (link here) is in the process of a final agreement on a capital increase to the limits of its authorized capital of LE 600 million. The company’s Chairman Gamal Al-Garhy pointed to ongoing talks with an Arab investor with large experience in operating steel companies. He said that Suez Steel would sell off between 30% and 35% of its shares to an Arab investor to raise the necessary capital increase. Currently, the company’s paid-in capital amounts to LE 136.4 million.
Al-Garhy pointed out that the Arab investor, who requested anonymity, was extensively experienced in operating production lines of steel companies, which should feed positively into the company’s performance. He expected sale procedures to be concluded by the end of next year.
The company’s general meeting on Tuesday, December 19, approved the board’s proposal to increase capital to LE 600 million — the high end of its authorized capital. Shareholders also agreed to postpone the merger of Suez Steel with Misr National Steel Company (Ataqa) (link here) which is a family business owned by Al-Garhy’s — until the capital increase has been concluded.
Suez Steel was first launched in 1997 with an authorized capital of LE 600 million and a paid-in capital of LE 136.4 million. The company’s annual capacity amounts to 600,000 tons of iron and its sales hit LE 991 million in 2005.
EGYPT TO COMPLETE ELECTRONIC CUSTOMS PAYMENT PROJECT BY MID-2007 Source: Al Alam Al Yom, December 26, 2006
Egypt's new online customs payment system will be completely operational by mid-2007, said Finance Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali. As of July 2006, some LE 62 million had been collected through electronic payments. The new system will allow importers to pay by credit, enabling them to receive their goods in three days and to pay customs within 30 days. An expedited, 24-hour release service will be introduced for clients who meet certain criteria, including a minimum account value of $5 million per year. The Customs Authority (link here), in cooperation with the government statistics agency CAPMAS (link here), the Central Bank of Egypt (link here), the Ministry of Trade and Industry (link here) and other government entities, is also installing new programs and equipment for data collection to improve the quality of international trade statistics and eliminate discrepancies.
GOVERNMENT TO USE BANK OF ALEX PROCEEDS TO SHORE UP STATE COMPANIES Source: Al Ahram, December 18, 2006
The government plans to spend LE 9.2 billion of the funds it received from the sale of Bank of Alexandria (BoA) (AmCham Member) (link here) to shore up the financial positions of 54 state-owned companies, Finance Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali announced at a news conference. The money will be spent to settle the bad debts, owed mostly to state banks, of petrochemical, textile, food, mineral and construction companies. This will protect bank depositors and enhance the solvency and profitability of the banks themselves. It is the government’s second round of debt settlement and will reduce the total outstanding bad debts of the state banks to LE 7.8 billion. The state companies also owe about LE 2 billion to private banks. In the first round, the government spent LE 6.9 billion in cash to settle the debts of Bank of Alexandria. It also paid state companies LE 1.6 billion to settle some of their debts to other state banks. The total outstanding LE 9.8 billion that state companies will owe is significantly less than the LE 31.5 billion they owed as of June 2004, when the current banking reform process started, said Investment Minister Mahmoud Mohieldin.
TAX AUTHORITY TO DROP OLD TAX DISPUTES AHEAD OF NEW FILING SEASON Source: Source: Al-Ahram, December 25, 2006
Egypt’s Taxation Authority will drop all pending tax disputes in cases dating from before the new tax law came into effect in 2005, announced the authority’s chairman Mahmoud Aly. Pursuing the cases is not practical because of their large number, he added. The authority will soon issue new guidelines for resolving futures disputes. It is now preparing for the 2006/2007 filing season, providing better facilities, assistance to taxpayers, computers and tax files to simplify the process, Aly said. Tax returns will be reviewed for errors by way of a sampling approach.
EGYPT TOPS EC CHOICES ON MARITIME LINK WITH MED Source: ANSAmed, December 20, 2006
Egyptian ports have a great opportunity within the ambit of the European Commission's (link here) transportation policy committee, Egyptian Transport Minister Mohamed Lotfi Mansour believes. The committee, whose two-day sitting in Brussels wrapped up on December 20, is tasked with upgrading maritime linkage between the Mediterranean countries and the European Union's 25 member states. Mansour said the meeting, in which the international cooperation committee at the Egyptian Transport Ministry is taking part, will review a set of regional projects of fast waterways in the Mediterranean Sea Basin. He emphasized that the project would involve three Egyptian harbors; Alexandria, Port Said and Damietta. The project will start in Egypt, Mansour noted, adding that the ministry held a workshop last month on the issue with the participation of EC representatives and Egyptian port authorities. Egypt has an expertise in carrying out Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects, with the participation of the public and private sectors, Mansour stressed.
HUTCHISON OF CHINA TO CONSTRUCT CONTAINER TERMINALS Source: Noozz, December 23, 2006
The Chinese Hutchison Whampoa Limited Company (link here) has set off to construct two container terminals in the Alexandria and Al-Dekhaila seaports in Egypt with total investments of $100 million. Ibrahim Youssef, Chairman of the Alexandria Port Authority (link here) said the combined capacity of the terminals would amount to 800,000 containers. This will increase the number of containers handled in both seaports to 1.4 million a year.
The Chinese company runs about 35 container terminals worldwide and handles a total record of containers estimated at 21 million containers a year. Youssef said that about $143.3 million (over LE 815 million) has been invested in upgrading the infrastructure and human resources of the Port of Alexandria. He pointed out that the port's annual return amounted to LE 500 million with import tariffs collected estimated at LE 11 billion. "For 60% of Egypt's international trade passes through the Port of Alexandria," he explained. The Alexandria Port Authority has received three proposals for its bid on a tourism project launched for international companies. All proposals came from Gulf-based companies, including M.A. Kharafi Group (AmCham Member). Investments required for the project are estimated at $500 million (about LE 2.6 billion).
EGYPTIAN EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE KICKS OFF IN CAIRO Source: ANSAmed, December 15, 2006
The Egyptian-European Association conference kicked off in Cairo on December 15, which discussed promoting Egyptian exports to Europe, touched upon provisions of the European agreement after two years of its application and its impact on the Egyptian exports as well as volume of the European investments in the Egyptian stock market (AmCham Member) (link here) and the European Funding program. General manager of the conferences organizing group, Nancy El Maghraby, said that the European Union is Egypt's largest trade partner. Egypt's trade to the EU accounts for 28% of its exports. The EU provides around 60% of the direct investment inflow into Egypt.
Compiled by: Business Studies & Analysis Center E-mail: Studies@amcham.org.eg If you want to receive this bulletin on a regular basis, fill out this form
Printable version
