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Rachid to offer 12 cement licenses
Local press has quoted Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid as saying the ministry will offer 12 licenses for the construction of cement factories in 2010. The decision represents a step toward meeting Egypt’s growing demand for cement. However, the Industrial Development Authority – an arm of the Ministry of Trade & Industry – must approve the energy output that would be required to run the 12 plants before the licenses can be officially offered.
H1N1 flu toll stands at 248
As of press time, swine flu-related deaths in Egypt reached a total of 248. According to the State Information Service, the number of confirmed cases of swine flu reached 15,608 since the first case of the virus appeared in the country last June. In December, 75 swine-flu related deaths were reported.
According to published reports, an H1N1 vaccination campaign coordinated by the Ministry of Health was held January 3-13. Elementary school students in the governorates of Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Sixth of October, Helwan and Qalioubiya received shots at no cost with their parents’ consent. A second campaign to vaccinate pregnant women began later in the month after 478,000 doses of vaccine were received from overseas.
According to press reports on January 11, H1N1 detection measures were halted at ports of entry after the measures were found to be ineffective in limiting the spread of the virus. A day later, Minister of Health Hatem El Gabaly was quoted as saying that H1N1-related school closures would be reduced from two weeks to one.
Flooding leaves 15 dead, many missing
According to Egyptian and international press, as many as 15 people died and dozens were missing after flash floods in the governorates of North and South Sinai, Aswan, Qena and Ismailia, as well as along the Red Sea, Suez and Ain Sokhna. The flooding in the second half of January was the worst in 10 years.
Power outages in Sinai left thousands of tourists without electricity. Five ports, including Sharm Al Sheikh and Ain Sokhna, were closed on January 18 because of flooding.
Canal revenues fall; 2010 rates unchanged
Suez Canal revenue in December inched down 0.5 percent year-on-year to $390 million. International press on January 10 reported it represents the smallest year-on-year drop since November 2008. According to the website of the Suez Canal Authority, 1,452 ships passed though the canal in December, a slight increase from 1,418 ships the previous month. In December 2008, 1,560 ships used the canal.
On January 19, Egyptian media reported that transit fees for 2010 would remain unchanged.
Canal authorities announced the completion of the canal’s dredging, which increased the depth of the waterway from 62 feet to 66 feet. The extra four feet will accommodate vessels that weigh up to 240,000 tons loaded.
Egypt steelmakers blame Turkish imports
Local press reports on December 29 cited a report submitted by the Federation of Egyptian Industries to Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid saying that domestic steel manufacturers lost 38 percent of their market share in 2009. According to the report, the market share loss and overall decrease in sales were because about 2.5 million tons, or five times more than usual, of Turkish steel were imported last year. The flood of Turkish steel also caused the government to lose $1.2 billion in hard currency. The quantity of Turkey’s steel imports, said the report, threatens investments in Egypt’s steel industry.
Sugar exemption extended six months
According to a January 4 report on the website of the Ministry of Finance, the custom-duty exemption for imported raw and processed sugar has been extended to the end of June 2010. The initial six-month exemption was issued for the second half of 2009 to help reduce sugar prices.
Egypt applies a 2 percent duty on imported raw sugar and a 10 percent duty on imported processed sugar.
Press reports also said the Ministry of Trade & Industry announced on January 6 that it was going to import 1 million tons of raw sugar to help meet demand in the second half of this year and ensure adequate reserves for 2011.
Egyptians consume approximately 2.8 million tons of sugar annually, 1.6 million tons of which is produced domestically.
Council approves draft organ transplant law
Egypt’s upper house of parliament, the Shoura Council, approved a draft law on organ donations and transplants on December 28, according to press repots.
The draft law would not define death, but refer potential cases of organ donors to a panel appointed by the Higher Committee for Organ Transplants and the Ministry of Health. Organs taken for donation without committee approval would be considered first-degree murder and punishable by death. Moreover, organ donations from live donors would be restricted to specified family members. The draft also provides for a transplant waiting list and defines penalties for violations of the listing process.
The People’s Assembly (PA) approved the draft law, which had been discussed for two years, earlier in December. The Shoura Council draft has been referred back to the PA for a vote.
EGX 30 tops list of Arab indices
The State Information Service reported on January 2 that the EGX 30 outperformed other Arab indices in 2009, attracting new investments worth LE 4.8 billion last year and posting a gain of 35 percent. The EGX 30 did better than the exchanges of Saudi Arabia, Muscat and Abu Dhabi
Inflation rate down 1.3 percent
According to data released by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), the country’s net international reserves hit $34.2 billion and inflation declined by 1.3 percent month-on-month in December. Interest rates remained substantially unchanged, hovering around 13.24 percent year-on-year versus 13.29 percent in November. Core consumer price inflation inched down 0.52 percent in December, for an annual rate of 6.85 percent year-on-year in December versus 6.59 percent in November.
Energy subsidy reductions delayed
Subsidies for non-energy-intensive industries had been scheduled to be reduced starting January 1. However, the government’s Energy Pricing Committee recently recommended that they remain at their current levels for the next six months, according to a local press report on January 13. The decision to stall the lifting of subsidies for non-energy intensive industries came as a result of a study that demonstrated those industries would be unable to shoulder the higher cost of energy.
Subsidies for energy-intensive industries were reduced beginning in late 2007.
Energy subsidies constitute approximately 60 percent of Egypt’s total package of subsidies. Reducing the amount of energy subsidies would consequently greatly help to reduce the country’s budget deficit.
Mubarak appoints two new ministers
President Hosni Mubarak has appointed Ahmed Badr and Alaa Fahmy as ministers of education and transport, respectively. Before Fahmy’s appointment, the Ministry of Transport had been without a minister for about 70 days after the resignation of Mohamed Mansour.
Badr is the former head of Ain Shams University, while Fahmy was in charge of the Postal Authority.
Bird flu cases increase to 94
The number of confirmed cases of bird flu in Egypt has risen to 94, local press reported on January 25. The 92nd case was diagnosed in a boy from Daqahliya governorate, reported the State Information Service, and the 94th in a 45-year-old man from Sharqiya governorate. Reports concerning the 93rd case were unavailable.
Fast food chain Mo'omen plans IPO
Mo'omen Group, which owns Egypt's largest local fast-food chain, has announced it plans to raise LE 500 million by 2011 through a listing on the Egyptian stock exchange, local press reported. The company has sales of about LE 600 million annually. Mo’omen plans to open branches in Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Malaysia. Mo'omen consists of five companies, including the fast food chains Mo'omen, Pizza King and Planet Africa, and United Food Industries, and a food import and distribution company.
Banks to accept real estate for debt
Egypt’s two largest government-owned banks by assets, National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr, have announced they will accept real estate in exchange for hundreds of millions of dollars in public sector debt, according to the Ministry of Finance’s website on January 4. Public sector debt owed by firms to the banks was reduced from LE 32 billion to LE 8 billion by the government and has been accruing since nationalization programs in the 1960s.
Final framework for mobile banking expected
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) is expected to complete the regulatory framework for mobile banking (m-banking) services within a month, according to several newspapers. The Ministry of Communications & Information Technology is awaiting CBE approval of the framework in order to begin setting tariffs for m-banking services, in cooperation with the three mobile operators, according to Mahmoud El-Gowini, senior adviser to the minister of communications and information technology for communication policies.
New sugar factories to add 1 million tons per year
A number of new sugar beet factories are under development by several companies, with a combined production capacity estimated at 1 million tons of sugar a year, according to press reports. The combined cost of the new factories is about LE 8 billion, and they are expected to increase the country’s sugar production enough to cover 84 percent of domestic consumption.
Ministry announces new gold and oil projects
Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmy announced on January 1 that approximately 520 wells are to be drilled this year. According to a January 2 report by the State Information Service, the wells are among many projects designed to boost the country’s oil reserves and enhance production of petroleum.
The report also stated that the initial output of gold from the Eastern Desert is expected to reach 200,000 ounces this year and as much as 500,000 a year during the factory’s projected 20-year life span. Fahmy was quoted as saying that six new agreements will be signed with companies interested in mining gold.
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