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July 6 (Reuters) – Commercial International Bank (COMI.CA), Egypt’s biggest private bank by capital, said it will double its issued and paid-up capital to 5.90 billion Egyptian pounds ($1.07 billion) financed from its reserves.
Shareholders will receive one free share for every one held by the close of trade on July 14. The shares will be distributed the following day, the bank said in a statement. (Writing by Patrick Werr)
June 27 (Reuters) – An Egyptian authority in charge of selling state land to developers has appealed an administrative court’s decision to scrap a contract that alloted real estate to a unit of Talaat Moustafa Group (TMGH.CA).
Financials
The New Urban Communities Authority said in a statement that July 17 had been set for a hearing aimed at blocking the ruling.
The administrative court ruled on June 22 to cancel the contract that alloted 8,000 feddans (8,304 hectares) of land to Talaat Moustafa for its flagship Medinaty project.
The company and the housing ministry said the project would not be affected by the ruling. [ID:nLDE65L0VP] (Writing by Alexander Dziadosz)
June 20 (Reuters) – Egypt’s Palm Hills Developments (PHDC.CA) has pushed back a plan to sell 500 million Egyptian pounds ($88 million) in bonds until early 2011, Al-Borsa quoted its chief financial officer (CFO) on Sunday as saying.
The company had said in January that its board of directors approved the sale of up to 1 billion pounds in bonds as part of a plan to raise new funds to speed up construction spending.
It completed a 699 million pound rights issue in April and a 467 million pound syndicated loan in January.
Al-Borsa quoted CFO Ihab Swellem as saying the 500 million pound bond issue would take longer than expected because of procedures and because the firm would focus on construction and on building up its land bank in the next few months.
Palm Hills officials were not immediately available for comment. ($1=5.681 Egyptian Pound) (Writing by Patrick Werr; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)
June 16 (Reuters) – UAE-based Dana Gas (DANA.AD) has enough cash, liquid investments and funding plans in place to deliver on its growth plans, the company’s chief financial officer said on Wednesday.
Energy
“The current cash position is healthy and in excess of $185 million,” CFO Jim Dewar told Reuters in a written statement. “We are confident on our funding arrangements for 2010, based on existing cash flows and substantial progress on the farm out of 20-30 percent of our Egypt assets.”
Dana’s production of oil and gas in Egypt stood at over 42,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), he said.
(Reporting by Amena Bakr; Writing by Simon Webb; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)
June 16 (Reuters) – Israeli soldiers shot and killed an armed infiltrator from Egypt, Israel Army Radio reported.
A military spokesman said there was no immediate comment on the incident, which took place on Tuesday along a desert border where attempted penetrations, usually by smugglers or migrants seeking jobs, are common.
(Editing by Michael Roddy)
June 13 (Reuters) – Egyptian carpet maker Oriental Weavers (ORWE.CA) is negotiating to raise prices on some of its contracts with European importers following the euro’s tumble against other currencies this year, the company said on Sunday.
Cyclical Consumer Goods
The euro EUR= hit its lowest point since 2006 on Monday before rallying slightly last week. Euro-denominated sales account for some 15 percent of the Egyptian firm’s total sales.
“The declining euro was unexpected, the percentage was definitely unexpected,” the firm’s investor relations manager, Haitham Moneim, said.
“What we are renegotiating now is some sort of better prices,” he said, adding he expected the first changes to come into effect in the third quarter of this year.
Oriental Weavers exports over half of its goods to more than 100 countries, with about 20 percent of its sales coming from Europe. It also controls 85 percent of Egypt’s carpet industry.
Haitham said he expected that clients such as Swedish furniture retailer IKEA [IKEA.UL] would be open to adjusting prices after the euro shed over 15 percent of its value this year, and did not think higher prices would push importers to order fewer carpets.
“I think it (order volumes) will be based on demand in general, not only on the euro,” he said. “I think we have a favourable position to negotiate.” (Reporting by Alexander Dziadosz; Editing by Louise Heavens)
June 13 (Reuters) – Egypt’s Orascom Telecom (ORTE.CA) is still in talks with international telecoms firms to sell some of its African assets, after negotiations with South Africa’s MTN (MTNJ.J) failed last week, a newspaper reported on Sunday.
Telecommuncations Services
“Orascom Telecom Holding continues to hold a number of negotiations to sell its African units, with the exception of its (Algerian) unit Djezzy,” the daily al-Mal said, citing a source closely connected with the talks.
Orascom and MTN had been in talks to sell some or all of the Egyptian firm’s assets to MTN, but the deal failed after the Algerian government refused to allow Orascom to sell its Algerian unit Djezzy to MTN. (Writing by Alexander Dziadosz)
CAIRO, June 8 (Reuters) – Egypt’s Raya Holding (RAYA.CA) said on Tuesday it is to build a second data centre in the country for GPX Global Systems Inc, which aims to provide Internet exchanges and data centres for firms in the Middle East.
Egypt is trying to build up its broadband and other infrastructure to attract more technology-related industries such as call centres to take advantage of the country’s relatively inexpensive labour costs. [ID:nLDE5BE1VP]
The GPX data centre, to be built on Cairo’s outskirts, will allow firms to switch between different Internet service providers if one carrier’s service is disrupted, as well as helping back up and recover information.
Such services are vital to brokerages and Internet-based companies, whose businesses depend on smooth and uninterrupted connections to the Web.
“If you’re trading, you want to have a network that’s resilient,” GPX’s President Nick Tanzi said. “You can’t stop trading, so we offer a place to put back-up computers and servers.”
The centre will cost between 150 million and 200 million Egyptian pounds ($27-36 million) and will be aimed at attracting Egyptian and multinational firms working in the Middle East, Tanzi said.
Raya — which sells mobile handsets, runs call centres and provides outsourced IT services — will build the facility that is set to house the centre, the firms said. (Reporting by Alexander Dziadosz; Editing by Greg Mahlich)
Cairo, June 6 (IANS) An Egyptian court has ruled that men who marry Israeli women will be stripped of their citizenship, a media report said.
The State Council’s Supreme Administrative Court Saturday upheld a ruling issued by a first instance administrative court on dropping the Egyptian nationality from men who are married to Israeli women, Xinhua reported citing a statement from Egypt’s official MENA news agency.
There cannot be any appeal against the ruling, the court said.
The court asked the interior ministry to send the files of Egyptians married to Arab Israelis and Jewish Israelis to the cabinet.
It said the cabinet would have to see whether to strip the men of their Egyptian citizenship or not and that each case should be debated separately.
This ruling is meant to protect Egypt’s youths and its national security, lawyer Nabil al-Wahsh, who took the case to the court in the first place, was quoted as saying.
‘The ruling is so important as it comes at a time Israel is carrying on with its attacks against peace lovers, the latest of which was its raid on the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla,’ Wahsh said.
Over 30,000 Egyptian men are married to Israeli women, Wahsh claimed
June 2 (Reuters) – Somali pirates hijacked a Panama-flagged cargo ship and its 24-strong crew in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, the European’s anti-piracy taskforce said.
EU NAVFOR said an American warship had seen at least one person with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher on board the MV QSM Dubai.
It said the crew were from Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Ghana. (Reporting by Richard Lough; Editing by Helen Nyambura-Mwaura)
May 31 (Reuters) – Egypt’s Sixth of October Development Co. (SODIC) (OCDI.CA) said on Monday it expects to reverse its net loss by the fourth quarter, boosted by housing unit deliveries in its Allegria project.
Financials
“We expect Allegria units to be delivered and those numbers to be shown on our income statements by the fourth quarter of this year,” said chief business development officer Ahmed Demerdash Badrawi. (Reporting by Sherine El Madany; Writing by Patrick Werr)
J.K. Lakshmi Cement Ltd is in talks to buy an Egyptian cement firm for about 8 billion rupees, the Economic Times reported on Monday.
The target firm has an annual production capacity of 2 million tonnes, the report said citing a person privy to the development who declined to name the firm.
The deal is expected to be sealed by end 2010, the report added.
“We are looking at inorganic growth opportunities in the overseas market but nothing has been finalised,” Wholetime Director Shailendra Chouksey told the paper.
Reuters could not reach the company for a comment immediately.
To access the story, click http://www.economictimes.com.
(Writing by Bharghavi Nagaraju; Editing by Harish Nambiar)
An Egyptian court on Wednesday convicted 26 men of planning attacks inside Egypt and of being linked to Lebanese group Hezbollah.
Judge Adel Abdel Salam Gomaa of the emergency state security court sentenced the men — who included Lebanese, Palestinians, Egyptians and one Sudanese — to prison terms ranging from six months to 25 years.
Egypt’s announcement that it detained the men heightened tensions with Hezbollah, a militant group that is now part of the Lebanese government.
Two rockets were fired from Jordan at Israel’s Red Sea resort of Eilat on Thursday but landed in Jordanian territory, apparently without causing any injuries, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported on its website.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
Jordan’s port of Aqaba is adjacent to Eilat, which also borders Egypt’s Sinai peninsula.
Israel’s YNet news web site, giving a slightly different version of events, said rockets may have been fired from the Sinai toward Eilat but landed in Aqaba instead.
Israeli Army Radio said one rocket hit Aqaba and the other fell into the Gulf of Aqaba between the two cities.
Earlier this month, Israel cautioned its citizens not to visit the Sinai, citing information that militants might try to kidnap vacationing Israelis.
Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1979. Jordan and Israel made peace in 1994.
(Writing by Jeffrey Heller, Editing by Ari Rabinovitch)
CAIRO, April 14 (Reuters) – Egypt will reissue production licences to North Sinai Cement and El Wadi Cement, following talks after their initial licences were scrapped last year, the Industrial Development Authority said on Wednesday.
“The appeal period is over and the firms had not completed the necessary procedures to raise capital, so we decided to reissue two licences and cancel the old ones,” Amr Assal, who heads the authority, told Reuters.
The licences will be reissued in May, he added.
The government cancelled the licences of El Wadi Cement and North Sinai Cement late last year because of start-up delays and financing shortfalls. The two licences were among six awarded in 2007. [ID:nLDE5BE1DN] (Reporting by Dina Zayed)
CAIRO, April 11 (Reuters) – The Algerian unit of Orascom Telecom (ORTE.CA) paid $113 million to the Algerian tax authority representing the last of the principal the authorities say Orascom owes for 2005-2007, the firm said on Sunday.
Telecommuncations Services
The Cairo based firm added that payment of $25 million of penalties had been suspended pending a court ruling. It has now paid $597 million in principal plus $49 million in penalties.
CAIRO, April 11 (Reuters) – The Algerian unit of Orascom Telecom (ORTE.CA) paid $113 million to the Algerian tax authority representing the last of the principal the authorities say Orascom owes for 2005-2007, the firm said on Sunday.
Telecommuncations Services
The Cairo based firm added that payment of $25 million of penalties had been suspended pending a court ruling. It has now paid $597 million in principal plus $49 million in penalties.
CAIRO, April 11 (Reuters) – Egyptian developer Palm Hills Developments (PHDC.CA) shareholders bought 95 percent of the shares on offer in a 699 million Egyptian pound ($127 million) rights issue, a newspaper said on Sunday.
Financials
Palm Hills plans to use the issue’s proceeds to speed up construction and expand into hotels and other sectors, shielding it from home sales volatility, it said.
The firm is expected to reopen the rights issue to cover the unsubscribed portion, Egyptian daily al-Mal reported, quoting unnamed sources close to the issue.
Palm Hills executives were not immediately available for comment.
Under the rights issue, which closed on April 6, each shareholder is entitled to one share at 2 pounds each for every two shares held, Palm Hills has said.
Palm Hills shares traded at 6.70 pounds, up 0.6 percent, at 0846 GMT. (Writing by Alexander Dziadosz)
This diary is updated daily. New listings or amendments are marked *. All events/times provisional and in GMT (local time is GMT +2 for Egypt and GMT +3 for Sudan).
Media | Telecommuncations Services
TUESDAY, APRIL 6
CAIRO – Egypt’s administrative court to view a lawsuit against the government to stop building a steel barrier at the border with Gaza.
CAIRO – Palm Hills Developments (PHDC.CA) closes rights issue.
SATURDAY, APRIL 10
CAIRO – Court expected to issue final ruling in Mobinil (EMOB.CA) ownership dispute.
TUESDAY, APRIL 13
SHARM EL SHEIKH – Start of International Grain Trading Conference organised by the Russian Grain Union and APK-Inform (until April 15).
SHARM EL SHEIKH – Water resources ministers of the Nile Basin countries meet to discuss new frameworks regarding shared Nile waters.
THURSDAY, APRIL 15
CAIRO – Telecom regulator’s bid deadline for two cable, voice and internet licences.
SUNDAY, APRIL 18
QENA – Court due to issue verdict on three Muslims charged with killing Copts in front of a church in southern Egypt on Coptic Christmas Eve.
MONDAY, APRIL 12
* SHARM EL-SHEIKH – Two-day Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Investment Forum begins.
TUESDAY, APRIL 20
CAIRO – Two-day Large Scale Farming in Africa conference starts.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28
CAIRO – Court due to issue verdict in Hezbollah cell trial.
TUESDAY, MAY 4
CAIRO – Egypt hosts a conference on solar energy in the Middle East and North Africa (until May 5).
MONDAY, MAY 10
CAIRO – International Renewable Energy Conference and Exhibition, RETECH Egypt 2010, opens (until May 12).
THURSDAY, MAY 13
CAIRO – Telecom Egypt (ETEL.CA) due to issue first quarter results.
MONDAY, MAY 17
CAIRO – Orascom Development Holding (ODHR.CA) due to issue first quarter results.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 12
CAIRO – Telecom Egypt (ETEL.CA) due to issue second quarter results.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 17
CAIRO – Orascom Development Holding (ODHR.CA) due to issue second quarter results.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11
CAIRO – Telecom Egypt (ETEL.CA) due to issue third quarter results.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17
CAIRO – Orascom Development Holding (ODHR.CA) due to issue third quarter results.
NOTE-Inclusion of diary items does not necessarily mean that Reuters will file a story on the event.
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A carved stone door which ancient Egyptians believed was the threshold to the afterlife has been discovered in Luxor, Egypt’s culture minister said.
The door belongs to the tomb of User, a powerful adviser to the 18th dynasty Queen Hatshepsut, Faruk Hosni said in a statement.
Hatshepsut, who ruled Egypt between 1479 BC and 1458 BC, was the longest reigning female pharaoh.
The large red granite door is 1.75 metres high and 50 centimetres thick.
It is said to be engraved with religious texts and various titles used by User, including mayor of the city, vizier and prince.
Mansur Boraik, who headed the excavation mission, says the door “was reused during the Roman period”.
“It was removed from the tomb of User and used in the wall of a Roman structure,” he said.
-AFP
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