Egyptian shares climb, Talaat Moustafa retreats
Egypt s main stock index climbed almost 2 percent on Sunday, driven higher by retail investors buoyed by gains in international markets.
Bucking the trend, shares in Talaat Moustafa slid after the company denied rumors that Kuwaiti investors were looking for a stake. That talk drove the stock up last week.
Shares in the real estate firm slid more than 3 percent to close at LE 4.58 ($0.81).
The rumor was denied, that is why (Talaat Moustafa) is down, said Karim Hosny, an account manager at Pharos Securities.
Overall, the main index rose 87.89 points, or almost 1.8 percent, to finish at 5,075.19 points.
Hosny said retail investors were driving trading and were reacting to gains on the European and US markets on Friday.
Other traders echoed his comments, saying speculative retail buying was behind the Egyptian market s gains. -Reuters
Egypt construction spending to hit $7 billion
Construction spending in Egypt, which has been estimated to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 3.9 percent, will reach a value of $7.3 billion in 2015, say the organizers of a major carpets and flooring show.
Domotex Middle East 2009, the only dedicated carpets and floor coverings exhibition in the MENA region, will be held from May 17 to 19 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The surge in Egyptian construction spending will help boost demand for carpets and floor covering products and services in the country, said Deutsche Messe, the organizer of the event. – Good News
Bulgaria signs deal to import gas from Egypt
Bulgaria signed a deal Saturday to import liquefied and compressed natural gas from Egypt, in an attempt to wean itself off Russian deliveries, on which it is almost entirely dependent.
Bulgaria s Economy and Energy Minister Petar Dimitrov and Egypt s Oil Minister Sameh Fahmy inked the intergovernmental memorandum for cooperation in the gas sphere on the sidelines of an international gas summit in Sofia.
This deal is extremely important for Bulgaria after the January crisis, as it opens possibilities for Bulgaria to import liquefied and compressed gas from Egypt, Dimitrov said after the signing.
Bulgaria was among the hardest hit by a Russia-Ukraine price row that cut Russian natural gas supplies to European consumers in the middle of winter.
Following the crisis, the country, which is nearly totally dependent on Russian gas deliveries via Ukraine for its consumption, has sought ways to diversify its supplies.
Dimitrov said Saturday that Egyptian gas could be delivered to Bulgaria via existing or new terminals in Greece and Turkey, but said concrete terms on quantities, timelines and routes had yet to be discussed.
Fahmy had said during a visit to Sofia earlier this year that Egypt could pump around one billion cubic meters of gas to Bulgaria each year from 2011-2012.
Bulgaria signed an agreement Friday to link its gas transportation network to that of neighboring Greece, enabling it to receive gas from terminals on Greece s Aegean coast and from the Turkey-Greece-Italy pipeline.
Bulgaria also reached an agreement in principle to build a new LNG terminal on Greek territory to which Bulgaria could have access to receive gas from third countries. – AFP
Average yield slips on 91-day Egypt T-bills
The average yield on Egyptian 91-day treasury bills fell a fraction to 10.413 percent at an auction on Sunday, compared to 10.465 percent at last auction on April 5.
The central bank said it accepted bids for bills worth LE 784.225 million ($139.2 million), the same amount it was seeking.
It accepted bids at rates between 10.301 and 10.5 percent, compared to a range of 10.2 to 10.5 percent at the previous auction.
The bills are for issue on April 28 and they mature on July 28, 2009. -Reuters
Transport minister reviews investment opportunities in eastern Port Said
Egyptian Transport Minister Mohamed Lotfi Mansour reviewed Sunday available investment opportunities in Eastern Port Said harbor, which is one of the most vital ports at the international level.
Eastern Port Said harbor ranked number one in 2007 among world harbors in realizing a growth rate of 101 percent, Mansour said during a field tour organized by his ministry for participants in the meetings of the General Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture for Arab Countries.
Mansour said his ministry seeks to upgrade the infrastructure of the Egyptian harbors, especially eastern Port Said. – MENA
Shoura Council to discuss food crisis, several loan agreements on Tuesday
The Shoura Council will review on Tuesday the government s policies to override the food crisis, the most fundamental problem facing the country with food output failing to cater for the growing demand.
The Council will also review agricultural research that is meant to reduce the amount of water lost in the planting process in the light of shrinking water resources.
The Council will also review a 6.67-million-dinar loan agreement signed with the Islamic Development Bank to fund a program on combating bird flu.
The Council will also endorse a $145-million loan agreement with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development on developing irrigation mechanisms in West Delta.
The Council will also ratify an agreement signed with the European Investment Bank, the EU Commission and the German Bank of Reconstruction and Development (KFW) on establishing a wind farm in Gebel El-Zeit area which is located on the western coast of the Gulf of Suez.
The project is meant to increase electricity production from a renewable energy resource and protect the environment by curbing greenhouse gas emissions.
Under the agreement, Egypt will get ?271.5 million in loans and grants. – MENA
