EGYPT WITH US AND TURKEY FOR MANAGING ALEXANDRIA PORT Source: Al Sharq Al Awsat, September 26, 2006
The Alexandria Port Authority (link here) is assessing the offer submitted by a consortium formed of an American, a Turkish and an Egyptian company for the management of the passenger terminal. The consortium consists of U.S. Royal Caribbean (link here), which manages over 12 tourist ports across the world including in the USA, Italy and Turkey, Egyptian Kadmar (link here) and Turkish Agi Ports. According to Kadmar CEO Hatem El Qadi the companies should receive the definitive answer on their offer in the next days. "The consortium will manage the port and will take care of the marketing with international tourist agencies," El Qadi added. The operation of the port will be conceded for 20 years. Following the approval of the offer, an Egyptian company will be set up in order to manage the project.
U.S. WOULD COOPERATE WITH EGYPT ON NUCLEAR ENERGY Source: Reuters, September 21, 2006, ANSAmed, September 25, 2006
The Egyptian government has approved, on September 25, the construction of three nuclear power plants with a combined capacity of 1,800 megawatts by 2020 in the area of Dabaa, on the Mediterranean coast. Egypt thereupon would be reviving the civilian nuclear power program it froze 20 years ago following the accident at the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine. The first of the plants is scheduled to open in 2015. President Hosni Mubarak spoke at the annual conference of the National Democratic Party (NDP) (link here) last week to back the development of the sector in Egypt. This came after US Ambassador to Egypt Francis Ricciardone told a local television in an interview that the United States was ready to help Egypt in the civil use of nuclear power.
Ricciardone said there could be no comparison between the peaceful use of nuclear technology by Egypt and Iran which the U.N. Security Council has ordered to suspend uranium enrichment. Gamal Mubarak told the annual congress of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) this week that Egypt should consider alternative sources of energy, including nuclear power.
Egypt, a country of more than 73 million, is the second biggest recipient of U.S. aid after Israel, which is thought to have the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal.
For AmCham’s Egypt-U.S. Economic Relations (Click here).
FIRST 'JOBLESS' COMMITTEE FORMED Source: AKI, September 26, 2006
The Egyptian center for fighting unemployment and defending human rights has announced the establishment of the first committee for the unemployed in Egypt, in an effort to better the conditions of the jobless and provide work opportunities for them. To date the committee has 1,160 members, mostly university graduates who failed to find work after finishing their studies, and who constitute 11% of the population, according to the World Bank (link here).
Official statistics put the unemployment rate in Egypt at 9.9% and the total of the unemployed are almost two million. That figure is expected to rise due to the fact that job seekers are increasing each year, since Egyptian universities turn out tens of thousands of graduates each year. According to the International Monetary Fund (link here), Egypt must achieve 6% growth order to provide 600 thousand job opportunities for the new graduates.
SAUDI ANWAL BUYS OMAR EFFENDI CHAIN DEPARTMENT STORE Source: ANSAmed, Reuters, September 26, 2006
The Egyptian Trade Holding Company gave the go-ahead of selling 90% of Omar Effendi chain department store shares to Saudi Anwal United (link here) at a total value of LE589.5 million. The Trade Holding company will continue to own 10% of stakes, ensuring that Anwal stays committed to the contract terms and to protect rights of the employees, said the minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohie El Din. The Saudi investor, according to the contract, will spend LE180 million to develop Omar Effendi branches, beside paying LE155 million to settle all debts of Omar Effendi. The sale of Omar Effendi has lately caused controversy when El Hanesh, a Saudi-based Egyptian bussinessman offered to pay LE2 billion. Yet not showing up with necessary documents that affirm his seriousness and financial capability.
The sale of Omar Effendi was finalized with Anwal that already had won the bid. Omar Effendi, Egypt's largest state owned department store chain and was founded in 1856 under the name Orosdi Back. Sold by the original owners in the 1920s Orosdi Back underwent a change of name and became Omar Effendi, under which name it weathered the 1952 Revolution only to be nationalized in 1957.
SECOND CEMENT EXPORTER TO SPAIN AFTER CHINA Source: menareport.com, September 22, 2006
Egypt is the second biggest cement exporter to Spain, according to cement producers. In the first eight months of the current year Egypt exported to Spain nearly 730,00 tons of cement. Spain's imports from China in the same period reached 2.8 million tons of cement, representing 40% of Spain's imports. Spain's imports of cement since the beginning of the year amounted to 7.1 million tons. Spain is Europe’s number one importer of cement and is the world's second biggest importer after the United States.
TALKS ON BUILDING A $800 MILLION INDUSTRIAL ZONE Source: ANSAmed, September 22, 2006
Egyptian Foreign Trade and Industry Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid had talks with a visiting Chinese delegation, led by the president of Shaanxi Chamber of Commerce, on building an $800 million Chinese industrial city in Egypt. The integrated city will house 300 small and medium-sized factories operating in the field of IT, spinning and weaving, ready-to-wear clothes and construction materials. Also, a number of exhibitions will be held in the city. It is expected that 50% of the city's production will be exported to Africa and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) (link here). The city's production will be exported to the United States, Europe, Africa, Egypt as well as COMESA countries. Rachid has just returned from a visit to China during which he announced a boom of Egyptian-Chinese economic relations boosting a 2,7 billion dollars in bilateral projects.
CEMENT PRICES FALL TO AS LOW AS LE 300 PER TON Source: Al-Ahram, September 19, 2006
Ex-factory cement prices have fallen to as low as LE 300 per ton four weeks after the government met with local producers, said Industry and Trade Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid. Six companies submitted their ex-factory price data to the government as follows: Qena Cement and National Cement (link here) at LE 300 per ton, Suez Cement Group LE 317 per ton, Alexandria Cement Beni Suef ranging between LE 332.5 and LE324.5 per ton. Retail prices varied according to the proximity to the producing plant. Assyut Cement (AmCham Member) prices, at a minimum of LE 340 per ton, were the highest, while National Cement's, which ranged between LE 320 and LE 335 per ton, were the lowest, Rachid said.
EGYPT INVEST 2006, 4TH INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT & TRADE CONFERENCE FOR EGYPT Source: Ameinfo, September 18, 2006
Egypt has been witnessing major economic changes along with the tremendous implementation of their new policies in order to catch the globalization wave by making new opportunities available in many leading industry sectors. These new policies and opportunities managed to attract influential companies to invest in Egyptian industries. Etisalat (link here) is putting LE16.7 billion which will be deposited at the Central Bank of Egypt (link here). Such a transaction will encourage other investors to pump their money in Egypt and provide sufficient financial liquidity for financing all its projects in the Egyptian as well as other regional markets. This is proof that Egypt is moving towards the right direction of attracting more FDI. As ongoing assistance in this task International Event Partners (IEP) (link here) is again addressing the critical areas and bringing potential companies to Egypt through the annual Egypt Invest 2006 (link here).
Now in its 4th year this acclaimed International Investment & Trade Conference for Egypt, will again be taking place in Intercontinental CityStars, (AmCham Member) (link here), Cairo, on the 1st & 2nd November 2006; fully supported by The Egyptian Ministry of Investment (link here). The exhibition will feature recent projects and investment opportunities in Egypt, which will embrace private companies and governmental institutions alike.
JORDANIAN GROUP TO BUILD A $2 BILLION RESORT AT SAHL HASHEESH Source: Daily Star Egypt, September 29, 2006
Jordan's Shaheen Business and Investment Group announced it plans to develop a $2 billion tourist resort at Sahl Hasheesh, 21 kilometers south of Hurghada on Egypt's Red Sea coast. Construction will take three years beginning in early 2007, said a Shaheen official. The project will be built on 3 million square meters of land that the Shaheen Group bought from the Egyptian Tourism Resorts Company last month.
The resort, named Serrenia (link here), will include a range of residential accommodation such as palaces, villas (luxurious, large and private), apartments and a 200 bedroom 7-star hotel, a golf course, health centers and a marina.
Foster & Partners (link here), the leading UK architects and designers have designed the Serrenia development.
Shaheen will target a high income clientele, especially from Europe. It will finance the project mainly from its own capital and from off-plan sales of real estate units. It plans to borrow less than 15% of the total $2 billion cost.
At the heart of this huge development is the marina which will be completed in association with Camper & Nicholsons Marinas (link here) who are able to draw on their global expertise as Marina Consultants.
TOURISM IN EGYPT GETS A BOOST FROM EGYPT YELLOW PAGES Source: AMEinfo, September 24, 2006
Egypt Yellow Pages Ltd (link here) announced today the completion of distribution of the inaugural 2006 Sinai & Red Sea Yellow Pages Directory. Renowned with businesses around the world as an essential part of any marketing program, the Yellow Pages is now published and distributed in one of the world's fastest growing tourism markets - Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and Red Sea Coast, also dubbed in many media campaigns as the 'Sinai & Red Sea Riviera'.
“The demand for both advertising in the directory as well as the desire for local businesses and hotels to have actual copies of the new Sinai & Red Sea Yellow Pages Directory has far exceeded our initial projections,” said Marc Lambert, Managing Director of Egypt Yellow Pages. “We were very confident that there was a great opportunity to help both business and travelers connect with each other in this beautiful region of Egypt. I must say, we are more than pleased with the results to-date.”
Not just a traditional A to Z Yellow Pages, though the directory does have the tried and tested format of listing businesses alphabetically by category but the new Sinai Red Sea Yellow Pages Directory also includes comprehensive tourist information on all the geographic regions covered by the directory.
EMAAR STRENGTHENS EGYPT ROSTER WITH DIVERSE PROJECTS Source: Ameinfo, September 18, 2006
Global real estate major Emaar Properties (link here) has strengthened its Egyptian portfolio with landmark development projects that will boost the country's tourism initiatives and invigorate the local economy by creating new townships and generating employment opportunities. Apart from the LE 10 billion Marassi development on a 7-km strip of tourism resort land that Emaar had won recently in an auction, the property developer has entered into strategic local partnerships to create luxury, master-planned communities.
Work is afoot on Emaar's other projects including the LE 22 billion master planned community at the highest point of downtown Cairo - Uptown Cairo. Uptown Cairo is being developed on the highest point of downtown Cairo and will integrate residential, commercial and retail components. Emaar's most recent initiative in Egypt is Marassi - the 1544-acre tourist resort project located on Sidi Abdel Rahman and Alamein. Emaar had strengthened its international presence recently with the acquisition of John Laing Homes (link here), the second largest privately held homebuilder in the US; and Hamptons International (link here), a premier UK realtor.
EGYPT GETS 6 OFFERS FOR 26 TOURIST RESORTS Source: Al Mal, September 17, 2006
The Egyptian Tourism Development Authority (TDA) has received six offers from Gulf and west European investors to build 26 tourist resorts worth EGP9.5 billion in Ain Sokhna, Ras Sidr and the Gulf of Aqaba area. Seven resorts with 10,000 hotel rooms will be developed at Ain Sokhna at a cost of LE 2 billion, according to the plans presented. Seven resorts with 11,000 rooms will be developed in Ras Sidr for a LE 2.2 billion. The largest investment will be in the Gulf of Aqaba area, where 12 resorts with 8,137 rooms will be built for a total LE 6.1 billion. The TDA is seeking to increase room capacity by 32,000 rooms in the Red Sea and North Coast areas over the next 11 years for a total anticipated investment of LE 36 billion. Some 58% of this is expected to come from investors outside Egypt.
ETISALAT SUBSIDIARY SEEN HOLDING 14% OF EGYPT MARKET Source: Reuters, September 24, 2006
The Egyptian subsidiary of UAE telecom firm Etisalat (link here) is poised to secure 13.9% of the mobile telephone market in the Arab world's most populous country by 2010, an Egyptian investment bank said. HC Securities and Investment (AmCham Member) (link here) predicted in a note that Egypt's third mobile telephone operator would achieve 4.4 million subscribers by 2010, up from 800,000 in 2007, its first year of operation. Etisalat has a 66% stake in the consortium that won the country's third license in July in a deal worth $2.9 billion, almost 20 per cent above the second highest offer. According to HC, the Egyptian mobile market will grow by 89 per cent in the coming four years to 31.6 million subscribers at the end of 2010, with Vodafone Egypt (AmCham Member) (link here) and Mobinil (AmCham Member) (link here) sharing almost evenly 86.1% of the market. Etisalat has justified the price it paid for the licence based on the Egyptian market's growth potential.
Etisalat chairman Mohammad Hassan Omran said in July Etisalat aimed to achieve a 30 per cent market share within three to five years. Dubai-based investment bank Shuaa Capital (link here) said in a note in July it would take Etisalat until 2017 at the earliest to achieve a return on investment in Egypt. Shuaa predicted Etisalat would achieve 13.65 million subscribers, or 30% of the market, by 2011. The new operator should launch service in February 2007, according to HC.
ORACLE CHANNEL COMMUNICATIONS CENTER LAUNCHED IN CAIRO Source: Al Bawaba, September 21, 2006
Oracle Channel Communications Center was launched on September 21, 2006.The launch of the Oracle Center will support regional partners in delivering top quality implementations across the region, through supplementing manpower, ensuring skills development and tri-lingual support operations.
The Middle East and Africa partner network has boomed over the past few years, due to a steady growth in economic development around the region, leading to ‘galloping’ double-digit growth in IT spend in the MEA region against a 5.5% projected global average. With the simultaneous shift away from focusing on product towards customers calling for a holistic solution including services and web-delivery, the demands on partners have increased in line with the opportunities.
Ongoing training is a critical element to maintain contact with the active channel partners, ensuring they are up to date on Oracle corporate news and technical updates. In many cases, especially in remote areas, the partners are the first face of the company, and the launch of this center will ensure that Oracle has the resource to properly support and drive real channel communications and trainings programs around the whole MEA region. In FY06 to date, the center has offered more than eight thousand man-days of training to partners around the region, as well as regular web conferences, surveys and day to day outreach to partners.
SIEMENS WINS $28.7 MILLION TO OVERHAUL POWER PLANT Source: Al Alam Al Youm, September 21, 2006
Germany's Siemens (AmCham Member) (link here) has won a $28.7 million contract to revamp equipment at the Shubra el-Kheima power station. According to Electricity and Energy Minister Hassan Ahmed Younes, the project will help increase the efficiency of control and measurement equipment at Shubra el-Kheima and reduce harmful gas emissions. The project will also make it possible to monitor and control plant processes on a computer, will facilitate access to data and promptness in detecting breakdowns. Works are expected to be completed in slightly more than three years.
VODAFONE INTERNATIONAL RULES OUT SALE OF EGYPTIAN STAKE Source: Al Alam Al Youm, September 21, 2006 & MarketWatch, September 19, 2006
Telecom Egypt (link here) announced that it would seek to lift its stake in Vodafone Egypt (AmCham Member) (link here), one of the country's two mobile operators, by launching a tender offer valued at 5.86 billion Egyptian pounds, or $1.02 billion. Telecom Egypt said it would offer 100 Egyptian pounds a share for 24.4% of Vodafone Egypt, which is majority owned by Vodafone Group PLC (link here) of the U.K.
As of Thursday, September 28, Telecom Egypt had received sell offers for 30.2 million shares of VFE, representing 12.6% of VFE's total shares. The shares include 12.4 million controlled by Mohamed Nosseir, who owns 1% of VFE directly and 5% indirectly through his Alkan Group (AmCham Member) (link here), for a total of 14.4 million. Banque Du Caire (link here) likewise will sell its 3.4% stake and the Egyptian Post Office (link here) its 1.8% stake.
Vodafone International (link here) does not plan to sell any share of its 50.1% stake in Vodafone Egypt (AmCham Member) (link here). Amr El-Sheikh, head of the External Relations Department at Vodafone Egypt, stressed that the Egyptian mobile telephone market was one of the most important to Vodafone International. This was why the strategy of the company was to keep its majority stake. El-Sheikh added that Telecom Egypt's offer to buy 24.4% in Vodafone Egypt and thus raise its stake in the company to 49.9%, concerned the shares traded on the stock exchange and not those owned by Vodafone International. Vodafone Egypt has a capital of LE 1.2 billion distributed into 240 million shares with a nominal value of five pounds per share. Vodafone International owns 50.1% in the company, Alkan Group (AmCham Member) (link here) 5%, Telecom Egypt (link here) 25.5% and Banque du Caire (link here) 3.4%. The remaining 16% is held by individual shareholders.
WIRED INTO THE CASE Source: Business Today, September 2006
Online trading is opening up a new world for Egypt’s stock exchanges, encouraging not just players on the international scene, but reaching remote retail investors right at home
More and more, the world plays, works and buys online, so it was only a matter of time before the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange (CASE) (AmCham Member) (link here) became equipped to handle online trading.
In July, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) (link here) began accepting applications from brokerage firms interested in running online-trading services for clients. Before they’re approved, however, candidates must have fully digital back and front offices that can be electronically integrated with the CASE. They will also need to meet standards for secure IT systems that include disaster recovery and backup systems.
Egypt for Information Dissemination (EGID) (AmCham Member) (link here), a joint venture between the CASE and OMX (link here), a Swedish trading technology corporation that owns and operates six bourses in northern Europe, is developing the CASE’s online-trading infrastructure. OMX has already launched online stock trading technology in a number of markets in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar. In addition to providing IT solutions, EGID installs surveillance and listing systems for exchanges and transmits real-time information to investors. Upon logging on to a brokerage firm’s password-protected website, investors will be able to buy and sell securities online without a human intermediary.
ABU QIR, SAUDI MANSO TO BUILD $22 MILLION UREA PLANT Source: Al-Alam al-Yom, September 27, 2006
Abu Qir Fertilizers signed a preliminary agreement with the Saudi Manso Group to build a $22 million fertilizers plant to make urea and its derivatives. Abu Qir’s share in the new plant will be no more than 24%, said CEO Mohamed Abd-Allah. Much of the production will be exported. The company is also studying increasing the capacity of two of its nitrogenous fertilizers plants, one by 40% to 50% and the other by 30%, Abd-Allah added.
EGYPT SIGNS TWO OIL EXPLORATION ACCORDS Source: Al Alam Al Youm, September 18, 2006
Two agreements, for a total $28 million, for crude oil exploration in southern Egypt, have been signed with companies British Aminex Petroleum Egypt and Australian Pan Pacific Petroleum Egypt. Since the Egyptian South Valley Petroleum Holding Company was set up in 2003, four tenders for crude oil exploration and usage in southern Egypt have been held. "The development of the oil and mineral heritage of the region is one of our strategic objectives," Oil Minister Sameh Fahmy said. "British Aminex Petroleum Egypt will spend $16 million on exploration in the northern desert and has committed to dig out seven exploration wells in eight years," Hassan Akel, President of the Egyptian South Valley Petroleum Company, said. The Australian Pan Pacific Petroleum Egypt will spend $12 million for eight years of work in the western desert. It has pledged to build four wells.
AMINEX INKS PSA IN EGYPT FOR WEST ESH EL MELLAHA AREA Source: Rigzone, September 18, 2006
Aminex has signed a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) for Onshore Block 2 in the West Esh El Mellahah area ('WEEM') in upper Egypt at a formal signing ceremony with the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum on September 17th. This concession had previously received presidential and parliamentary approval, as announced to shareholders, but today's signing marks the start of the first concession period. The license has been awarded to Aminex Petroleum Egypt Ltd. (link here), in which Aminex PLC has a 10% working interest.
CIBC LAUNCHES ONLINE TRADING Source: Gulf News, September 27, 2006
Egypt's Commercial International Brokerage Company (CIBC)(AmCham Member)(link here) said it had launched an online share trading service after obtaining permission from the Capital Market Authority (link here) in mid-September. Online transactions through the CIBC system can be completed in eight seconds, it said in a statement. Rival brokerage EFG-Hermes (AmCham Member)(link here) said on Monday that it was preparing an online trading system for launch in a week or two.
MASTERCARD LAUNCHES RAMADAN AND EID CAMPAIGN IN EGYPT Source: Ameinfo, September 27, 2006
MasterCard Worldwide (link here), a leader in advancing global commerce, launched the MasterCard Ramadan and Eid Campaign in Egypt. Between September 25th and November 7th 2006, MasterCard together with participating customer banks and merchants are offering MasterCard cardholders the chance to benefit from a 10% discount when making purchases with their MasterCard debit or credit card.
During the MasterCard Ramadan and Eid Campaign in Egypt, Virgin Megastore (link here), Timberland (link here), Adidas (link here), Levi's (link here), and participating restaurants, Al Azhar Park (link here), Abu Auf Tent, The Place, Blue Nile, Le Pacha 1901 (link here), Abou El Sid (link here), Abu Shakra, Nile Crystal Boat, Plato Egypt Restaurant & Café and Passionelle, in association with MasterCard and customer banks, are offering a 10% discount on items purchased with a MasterCard card at these retail merchants and restaurants. The discount is applicable to all merchandise at Timberland, adidas and Levi's as well as CDs, books and DVDs from Virgin Megastore. In addition, during the campaign period, participating restaurants in Egypt are also offering a 10% discount off the total bill to MasterCard cardholders. Supporting this campaign are also participating MasterCard customer banks namely the Arab African International Bank (AmCham Member) (link here), Banque Du Caire (link here), Citibank (AmCham Member) (link here), Commercial International Bank (AmCham Member) (CIB) (link here), Banque Misr (AmCham Member) (link here), National Bank of Egypt (AmCham Member) (link here), HSBC (AmCham Member) (link here) and Piraeus Bank (AmCham Member) (link here).
IFRS ACCOUNTING STANDARDS TO BE APPLIED FROM JANUARY 2007 Source: Al-Ahram, September 24, 2006
Companies listed on the Egyptian stock exchange (link here) beginning in January will have to follow International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as part of a plan to increase investor confidence and attract foreign investment, said Alaa Amer, deputy head of the Capital Market Authority (CMA) (link here). The CMA will also soon issue the first draft of a corporate governance guide that contains rules and definitions for listing and disclosures. The CMA has established a new administration for corporate governance to regulate and monitor the extent by which listed companies abide by the new rules.
NATIONAL BANK OF EGYPT TAKING FIRST STEP TO REGIONAL EXPANSION WITH DUBAI OFFICE Source: Gulf news, September 17, 2006
The National Bank of Egypt (NBE) (AmCham Member) (link here) will open a representative office in Dubai by the end of September in a bid to expand its business across the Arab world. A high-level delegation led by Husain Abdul Aziz, board chairman, will visit Dubai next week to open the office. A spokesman said: "The office would begin providing a set of services in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah as well as the UAE in general." "The Dubai office is a first step towards regional expansion in Arab markets following the success achieved by the bank's new units in London, New York, South Africa and China," the spokesman added. The new office will provide a complete information system to businessmen and investors from both countries. The NBE is part of the consortium led by Etisalat (link here), which won the $3 billion bid for Egypt's third mobile license.
National Bank of Egypt (NBE) has also announced together with UAE's Al Fardan Group (link here) the launch of a new financial services company capitalized at $2.7 million. The Al Fardan Financial Services Company will be based in Abu Dhabi but branches will be opened across the UAE at a later stage, a senior company official said. The 50-year-old Al Fardan Group has businesses that range from jewellery manufacturing and trading, money remittance, real estate, general trading and others. Set up in 1898, NBE is one of the oldest commercial banks in Egypt and was ranked among the world's top 1,000 banks by The Banker magazine (link here). It was ranked fifth among Arab banks in terms of assets.
CREDIT AGRICOLE EGYPT INCREASES EGYPTIAN MORTGAGE STAKE TO 50% Source: Al Mal, September 17, 2006
Credit Agricole Egypt (AmCham Member), which acquired a 40% stake in Egyptian Mortgage Financing Company when its parent Credit Agricole bought Egyptian American Bank (link here), has now bought another 10% from Bank of Alexandria (AmCham Member) (link here), bringing its total stake in the company to 50%. State-owned Bank of Alexandria, which itself is being sold, sold the 10% stake in Egyptian Mortgage as part of a plan to dispose of its investments. The deadline for the remaining six contenders to submit their technical and financial bids for Bank of Alexandria is 25 of September.
FRENCH FIRMS POISED TO SWEEP CAIRO METRO LINE DEAL Source: AFP, September 15, 2006
French firms were poised to win most of the five-part tender for Cairo's third metro line, after already building the first two lines, sources close to the French offers said Wednesday.
The 33-kilometer (20 miles) third line will bring the Egyptian capital's underground network to a total 100 kilometers of tracks, with a target of 5 million daily users by 2020.
The sources said that a consortium of French companies led by Vinci (link here) and Bouygues (link here) made the lowest offer for civil works and engineering at $159 million, while the joint offer made by Spie, Alstom and Thales for power supply was also the cheapest. Competitors OHL of Spain (link here) and Mitsubishi of Japan (link here) made higher offers, the sources said.
French giants Alcatel (link here) and Alstom (link here) had already secured the first tender on signaling and telecommunication systems.
Two French companies are the only ones still in the running to build the track works while Alstom is a strong contender to clinch the tender for rolling stock after already providing the coaches for the first two lines.
The largest Arab capital's first metro line was opened in 1987 and line two was inaugurated in 1996. The much-coveted third line, which will serve Cairo international airport, is expected to open in 2010.
The official results for the first four rounds in the tender process are expected to be published October 5, while the final round on rolling stock is to be decided later.
1 MILLION SQUARE METERS DIRECTED TO KUWAITI FIRM Source: Mena Report, September 19, 2006
The authority of Port Said in Egypt has given the green light to allocate 1 million square meters east of the port for the Kuwaiti Aayan Group to offer naval transportation services worth between $250 million- 300 million in investments. Advisor of the group Ahmed Helmy said in various press statements that a company has been formed to manage the project with a capital of $40 million which the Kuwaiti side will contribute 92% of the total capital and the Egyptian side 8%. He said the company will offer logistic services at the port such as private naval transportation and cargo transportation in and out of Egypt.
EMBRAER SELLS SIX COMMERCIAL JETS TO EGYPT Source: ANBA, September 19, 2006
The Brazilian aircraft maker signed the $165 million contract with EgyptAir (link here), a state-owned airline from the Arab country that is among the oldest in the world. The aircraft will be used by EgyptAir's recently created subsidiary for regional aviation. Delivery begins in April 2007. Embraer (link here) has closed one more sale of aircraft to the Arab world. On September 17, the Brazilian aircraft maker singed a contract with Egyptian airline EgyptAir, which forecasts the delivery of six Embraer 170 jets with a capacity for 76 passengers.
The value of the agreement is around $ 165 million, as the average price for each of the aircraft is $ 27.5 million. The total, however, may double, as the Egyptian company has placed purchase options for another six aircraft of the same model, and they may be converted into firm orders.
The Embraer 170 will be the first aircraft of the EgyptAir Express fleet, an EgyptAir subsidiary geared at regional aviation. The new company will start operating when the first Brazilian jet is delivered, in April 2007.
The aircraft will be configured for just one class, with leather seats. The objective, according to Embraer, is to execute domestic and regional flights. "After careful technical examination, the Embraer 170 stood out as the right aircraft for the launching of our new subsidiary," stated the president of board of the Egyptian company, Atef Abdul Hamid, according to a statement disclosed by the company.
AMWAL AL ARABIA TO INCREASE SPINNING COMPANY CAPITAL Source: Al-Alam al-Yom, September 19, 2006
Amwal Al Arabia has agreed to pay LE 60 million to increase the capital of its subsidiary Egyptian Spinning and Weaving (ESW) to LE 160 million, Amwal Al Arabia chairman Hany Olama said. The new money, which Amwal decided to pay in addition to a LE 50 million it had previously paid to increase ESW’s capital to LE 100 million, will be used to increase the company's spinners to 160,000 from 48,000, making it Egypt's largest spinning company. Amwal is owned 43% by Arab Cotton Ginning (ACG), 43% by Amwal Al Khaleej and 14% by the General Cooperative for Agriculture Development, Arab Polvara and individual investors. Amwal also agreed to buy a stake in Aswaq for Trading and Distribution Company. ACG is studying the establishment of a wholly owned subsidiary to work in the field of real estate development to make use of ACG's real estate assets.
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