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Egypt to copyright antiquities

Egypt’s antiquities chief says he intends to pass a law prohibiting the unlicensed replication of ancient Egyptian antiquities, such as the Giza Pyramids and the Sphinx. Zahi Hawass, chairman of Egypt’s Supreme Council for Antiquities, said the proposed legislation would require anyone wishing to create an exact replica of Egypt’s ancient monuments and museum pieces to secure the permission of and pay fees to the Egyptian government.

The law would only apply to exact replicas, including scale, of ancient Egyptian artifacts, he explained. Royalties collected for commercial use of the copyrighted items would be used to pay for the upkeep of the country’s historic sites.

The draft law will be submitted to the People’s Assembly during the next parliamentary session. It is unclear how the legislation would be enforced internationally since its implementation would fall beyond the terms of international copyright treaties and enforcement mechanisms.

CASE lifts price cap

The Cairo & Alexandria Stock Exchanges (CASE) trading committee lifted the stock price limit on 50 companies. Previously, CASE regulations required trading to be halted on any stock that gains or loses 5 percent during a trading session. This had allowed individual buyers or brokers to purchase sufficient shares of a company’s stock to push it up to its 5-percent daily limit for several consecutive sessions, then suddenly sell their accumulated shares at a profit to other buyers attracted by the artificial run on the stock. Analysts expect the removal of the 5-percent price movement cap to restore the balance of supply and demand.

Trade with US grows

Egypt-US trade increased by 21.2 percent during the first three quarters of 2007 to reach $5.7 billion compared to $4.7 billion during the same period in 2006, according to a report issued by Egypt’s trade representative office in Washington. Egyptian exports to the US increased by 5.4 percent to reach $1.9 billion between January and September of 2007, compared to $1.78 billion during the same period in 2006. Oil products accounted for 49 percent of these exports, while 51 percent were non-oil products.

Egypt’s imports from the US increased by 27.9 percent during the first nine months of 2007 to reach $3.8 billion, compared to $2.74 billion during the same period a year earlier.

Nile island residents fear eviction order

Residents of Qorsaya Island, located north of Maadi in the middle of the Nile, are alarmed by the government’s plans for their island. No explanation has been given for the mysterious arrival of bulldozers and other heavy machinery under the protection of the military. Construction work begun in November has already destroyed several rice fields.

Many of the island’s 5,000 inhabitants, mostly farmers and fishermen, say the government has refused to accept rent for the past two months in an attempt to classify them as squatters. They argue that they have official government documents clearly listing their addresses as Qorsaya, proving that they are legal residents of the island.

Residents believe that the government plans to sell the land to investors to be developed as a tourist resort and golf course. A similar course of events preceded the government’s attempts in 2001 to evict residents of Dahab Island, south of Qorsaya, to turn it into a tourist resort. The plans were shelved following a public outcry.

A group of Qorsaya residents demonstrated last month in front of the Journalists’ Syndicate and organized a conference to air their complaints. Legal representatives of Qorsaya’s residents have also filed a motion with the State Council in an attempt to block any attempt to evict the residents.

EgyptAir puts privatization on hold

Egypt’s national carrier has been taken off the privatization list. The government had planned to offer a 20-percent stake in EgyptAir, either via sale to a strategic investor or through an initial public offering (IPO), as a way to raise capital to purchase new aircraft. However, following the company’s successful bid to join Star Alliance, company officials argue the privatization is unnecessary. Company officials forecast that joining the international alliance will increase revenues and cut expenses.

Farmers protest fertilizer prices

Farmers from villages in Monofiya Governorate gathered in front of the governorate’s office last month to protest against a shortage of fertilizer. Some 100 farmers from Kafr Arab, Kafr Sandid and Zanara claim to have not received their rations of government subsidized fertilizer since June 2006. They dispute the government’s claim of a supply shortage, pointing out that fertilizers are available in abundance on the black market.

The farmers accused the Principal Bank for Development & Agriculture in Zanara of selling its ration of subsidized fertilizers to private merchants for a profit. The fertilizer, which is offered to farmers at LE 42 per sack, is sold on the black market for LE 110 per sack. The protesters demanded that the government investigate their claim and implement tighter controls of subsidized fertilizer.

Suez Canal seeks to lure US-bound ships

The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has announced it is prepared to offer US-bound Asian container ships a discount for transiting the canal in an attempt to steal business away from its chief rival, the Panama Canal. SCA chairman Ahmed Fadel said he is willing offer an incentive to lure US-bound Asian container ships to transport their cargoes to East Coast ports via the Suez instead of West Coast ports via the Panama Canal. This would allow the shipment of goods through a direct, all-water route, which would save the time and cost associated with land transport of goods across the US.

SCA officials are actively wooing US East Coast terminals to negotiate deals before the Panama Canal completes a seven-year, $5.2 billion expansion. The Suez Canal can currently handle three times the capacity of the Panama Canal’s maximum capacity. Only 6 percent of US-bound container ships from Asia use the Suez route.

CBE cleans house

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) ended the year with sweeping action against banks for violating market norms and regulations. The CBE suspended the regional manager of a foreign bank working in Egypt, classifying him as “undesirable” and imposing a $2 million fine on the bank for violating market norms. The name of the manager, the bank and details of the violation have not been disclosed. A local press report, citing an unnamed source in the CBE, said the bank fired the manager and paid the fine without dispute.

The CBE also took aim at banks it accused of misleading clients. Several local and international banks were forced to withdraw products from the market because the prices didn’t reflect true cost. Others were fined for misleading advertising on car loans, in particular, as the interest being advertised did not reflect that actual amount of interest the client would end up paying.

Banks are allowed to set their own interest rates on loans. However, to ensure the transparency of banking transactions, Article 4 of Banking Law 120/1975 allows the CBE to step in to prevent misrepresentation of information by banks to clients.

Victory for textile workers

Workers of Al Mahalla Company for Spinning & Weaving won a victory with the dismissal of the company’s chairman, Mahmoud El Gebali, and the entire board of directors, after investigators uncovered accounting irregularities.

The government’s investigation was launched last September as part of an agreement with the factory’s workers that ended their nine-month strike. More than 25,000 workers had brought the textile factory to a standstill after striking in December 2006 to demand pay raises and delayed bonuses. They had also accused El Gebali and the Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF) of misappropriation of company funds.

The factory’s workers celebrated the announcement that El Gebali had been sacked, and the Ministry of Investment’s decision to grant them 135 days of pay.

Gov’t workers demand better compensation

Labor unrest continues to plague Egypt as striking workers in several sectors voice grievances with their government employers.

In December, employees of the Real Estate Tax Authority, began, and then temporarily suspended, a round-the-clock sit-in, demanding that their department be reinstated under the umbrella of the Ministry of Finance. The authority was placed under the control of governorates in 1974, which resulted in lower salaries for employees. The ministry’s tax employees have demanded financial compensation equivalent to that of the finance ministry’s employees.

The strike was suspended after finance minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali acknowledged the strikers’ demands as legitimate and promised the employees a financial bonus. Proceedings to annex the authority to the ministry have already begun. Strikers have vowed to meet again on January 9 to either celebrate the meeting of their demands or renew the strike.

Meanwhile, employees of the Egyptian National Railway Department for Industrial Safety have threatened to begin a hunger strike to protest unsatisfactory working conditions and payment. In early December, around 200 railway technicians held a demonstration in Cairo’s Ramsis Station to protest being held responsible for the failure of their superiors to take action when safety violations are reported. They complained that they were being asked to do too much for inadequate compensation. Technicians, who are paid around LE 300 a month, claim they have not received the raises promised by the minister of transport over a year earlier.

Building collapse kills 35

At least 35 people were killed when a 12-storey residential building in Alexandria collapsed on December 24. The building, which was constructed 30 years ago, buckled after workers on the ground floor tore down a support wall. Eyewitnesses said the building tilted to one side and collapsed.

According to local press reports, the building was originally licensed and constructed as a seven-storey residence. The owner later added five extra floors without permits. Despite municipal safety violation warnings and orders for restoration in 1982 and 1992, and a demolition order in 1995, no official steps had been taken to restore, remove or even evict residents of the building.

Prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for the owner of the building, who currently lives in Kuwait, and the contractor responsible for the renovation work immediately before the collapse.

Egyptian courts have issued an estimated 875,000 demolition orders for unsafe buildings. Less than 19 percent of these orders have been executed.

Central Bank announces new board

President Hosni Mubarak has reappointed Farouk El Okdah to serve a second term as governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE). Tarek Kandil was appointed as the new deputy governor. Four new board members were appointed: Suez Canal Bank chairman Hesham Ramez; Capital Market Authority chairman Ahmed Saad; Beltone chairman Alaa Sabaa; and Ministry of Economic Development representative Mohamed Fathy Sakr.

Board members reappointed to serve a four-year term are deputy governor Tarek Amer, the Ministry of Finance’s representative Momtaz Mohamed El Saeid, Arab African International Bank vice chairman and managing director Hassan Abdalla, HSBC Egypt chairman Abdel Salam Al-Anwar, Banque Misr chairman Mohamed Barakat and KPMG chairman Hazem Hassan.

Egyptians drown off coast of Turkey

Scores of Egyptians drowned when a boat transporting illegal immigrants sank off the coast of Turkey on December 11. There are conflicting figures of both the number of passengers on board and casualties. Turkish officials had initially stated that 46 bodies had been recovered immediately after the accident and another 30 to 36 were missing. Egyptian embassy officials later stated that there were 32 passengers on board and only two survivors, both Egyptian. Six Egyptians were among the dead, while the remainder were Syrians and Iraqis. Other reports, including accounts by survivors, say the boat had up to 90 illegal migrants on board, of which up to 55 were Egyptians.

In November, 21 Egyptians drowned in two similar incidents off the coast of Italy as they tried to enter that country for work illegally.

Lafarge to purchase OCI’s cement division

Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) has announced an agreement with France’s Lafarge to purchase its cement division, OCI Cement Group, for $12.9 billion, plus $2 billion in debt. The deal gives the world’s largest cement maker exposure to emerging countries in the Middle East and Mediterranean, while allowing OCI to focus on projects in construction, infrastructure and natural gas.

Orascom shareholders will be asked to approve the deal in early January 2008. To finance the acquisition, Lafarge plans to sell OCI chief, Nassef Sawiris, an 11.4-percent stake in Lafarge for about $4.1 billion.

Monopoly penalties toughened

Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid has announced amendments to Competition Law 64/2006 that would increase the fines for monopolistic practices to LE 50 million, or 10 percent of the product’s total value, and make such practices a criminal offense. Previously, the ceiling for fines was LE 10 million.

Rachid encouraged employees aware of any such practices to come forward without fear of being penalized. This, he said, will ensure a more competitive environment, which will benefit consumers.

Rice prices set to increase aftersupply shock

A worldwide drop in the supply of rice is expected in the wake of a deadly cyclone that devastated southern Bangladesh, wiping out $291 million of its winter rice crop. One expert forecast a 20-percent increase in international rice prices.

Egyptian rice production is expected to increase in anticipation of the price spike. Last year, Egyptian farmers produced 5 million tons of milled rice, of which 3.2 million tons were consumed domestically and 1.8 million tons were exported to take advantage of high international prices. Water experts are concerned, however, that more farming of the water-intensive crop is unsustainable.

Winter brings new cases of bird flu

Health officials last month culled around 160,000 fowl on a farm in Belbeis, 55 kilometers north of Cairo, after all samples taken from a farm tested positive for a strand of the avian flu.

Also in December, two women died after becoming infected with a fatal strand of the H5N1 avian flu virus. Another two women tested positive for bird flu and are recovering. The new cases bring Egypt’s total number of human infections to 42, of which 17 have been fatal.

Lebanon’s Solidere enters Cairo market

Lebanese constructon firm Solidere announced it will take part in two projects outside Cairo in partnership with Sodic, a local developer. One project is a $2.4 billion project called West Town located in Sheikh Zayed city; the other is a $1.6 billion project in Katamiya called East Town. The developments are planned to include residential buildings, offices, shopping malls, amusement parks and public gardens.

Bottled water deemed unsafe

A study conducted by the Consumer Protection Authority of the 21 brands of bottled water sold in the Egyptian market found that only 13 are in full compliance with the set standards. Violations included a high percentage of bacteria in the 1.5-liter bottles of El-Nada and Schweppes as well as in the 19-liter container of Nahl, Aquastone, Aquamina and Hayat, making them unfit for human consumption. The composition tables that appear on the bottle also contained incorrect information.

Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid noted that the designation “mineral water” was misleading as all bottled water in the market comes from natural wells that lack the appropriate depth and environment for this term.

Germany investigates visa scandal

The German embassies in Cairo and Moscow have fired several employees after discovering that at least 153 visas issued by the two embassies were based on forged documents. Six embassy employees in Egypt are accused of facilitating 132 false visas, while one employee in Moscow allegedly helped arrange 1,259 fraudulent visas, a German foreign ministry spokesperson said.

Germany, an EU-member state, is now reexamining an estimated 50,000 visas issued by both embassies over the past 12 months. Foreign ministry officials are trying to determine whether the false visas were facilitated in exchange for money, or were arranged for acquaintances of embassy employees.

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