SODIC Most Powerful Stock in the Real
The Egyptian Association for Stock Investors elected the SODIC stock as ‘exceptional stock’ for 2007 in the real estate market, according to a press statement.
This selection was announced at an event in honor of ‘Distinctive Stocks in the Stock Market’ which was organized by the association under the auspices of Investment Minister Mahmoud Mohieldin and the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange (CASE) Chairman Maged Shawki.
The event, held in the Four Seasons Nile Plaza Hotel in Cairo, was attended by Amr Mostafa Kamel, chairman of the Egyptian Association for Stock Investors; and Mohamed Taymour, CEO of Pharos Securities; Mohamed Abdel Salam, chairman of the Egyptian Company for Clearing; Hani Tawfik, executive director of Naeem Holding and chairman of the Arab Union for Direct Investment.
“We are very proud of this recognition; it is considered the result of the company’s efforts during the past year, which was filled with a number of great achievements for the company, said Ahmed Badrawi, SODIC’s director of business development. “This honor doesn’t just represent the strength of our stock, but also enhances the investors’ confidence in the stock’s performance on the long term.
SODIC is publicly listed on the CASE, with a market cap exceeding LE 5.5 billion, and is one of the fastest growing and most.
BP makes significant gas discovery in Egypt
Thomson Financial reported that BP PLC said it has made a significant gas discovery at the Nile Delta in Egypt. The offshore find, known as Satis, is located in the North El Burg in the Nile Delta concession, about 50 km north of Damietta.
“The well was drilled to a Nile Delta record depth of more than 6,500 meters and is the first significant high-pressure, high-temperature, offshore Oligocene discovery, BP said in a statement.
BP is the operator of the project with a 50 percent stake. IEOC, an affiliate of Italian energy group ENI SpA holds the other 50 percent. Satis is BP s third deep gas discovery in the Nile Delta. The first one was Raven in 2003, followed by Taurus Deep last year.
Telecom Egypt, Alcatel sign $125 mln cable deal
Reuters reported state-controlled Telecom Egypt signed a $125 million contract on Thursday with Alcatel-Lucent to build a new submarine cable between Egypt and France.
This is the first Egyptian cable of the kind and the largest contract in the history of Telecom Egypt, Telecom Egypt Chairman Akil Beshir told a news conference.
The deal, which would make Egypt less vulnerable to internet disruptions, comes a day after the country had up to 70 percent of its Internet network cut off due to disruption to an undersea cable that also affected the Gulf region and south Asia.
Egyptian Telecommunications Minister Tarek Kamel told reporters at the signing ceremony the new cable deal was not a response to Wednesday s disruption but would boost network service in the most populous Arab country.
The communication cable will connect Sidi Kerir near Alexandria on Egypt s north coast to Marseille in France. Beshir said the cable would also lower the cost of Internet services in the country.
The TE North cable, to be installed over 20 months, would also extend by land to Egypt s Sinai peninsula through two routes, making it the largest capacity cable built by Alcatel, an Alcatel official said.
Georges Krebs, Alcatel s general manager of submarine networks, told Reuters his firm won a tender to build the cable two weeks ago after the Egyptian government granted Telecom Egypt a license to install and operate it.
Egypt had given two other similar licenses to Egyptian companies to build and operate communications cables as it seeks to expand its network, Kamel said without naming the companies.
EU, Iraq seek closer energy tiesEU and Iraqi officials agreed Thursday to pursue closer energy ties, part of a broader strategy by Europe to reduce its dependence on Russian supplies.
Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain Al-Shahristani said his visit to Brussels was an opportunity to confirm Iraq s commitment to supply Europe with both oil and gas.
EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, who met the Iraqi minister, said Iraq is a natural energy partner for the EU, both as a producer of oil and gas and as a transit country for hydrocarbon resources from the Middle East and the Gulf to the EU.
Energy is a key element for Iraq s economic development, and the EU energy market, as the largest integrated market in the world, offers interesting opportunities for Iraq, she added.
She said the European Union was keen to see Iraq link into the Arab gas pipeline project from Egypt to Jordan, near the Syrian border. The natural gas pipeline, still under construction, will allow European customers to tap into supplies from Egypt and other countries along the line.
We talked about Iraqi gas, said EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, who also met the Iraqi oil minister. It is important it is available to the EU market, he added.
Al-Shahristani said Iraq planned to develop its gas fields this year and should be in a position to supply Europe with gas in two or three years. EU countries currently depend on Russia for around a quarter of their gas supplies.
The European Union is planning to build the 3,300-km pipeline to transport gas from the Middle East and Central Asia to its energy-hungry consumers in Europe while bypassing Russia. -AFP
