Siemens installs renewable plant in Egypt: agency
Engineering group Siemens has taken another step towards becoming one of the world s top three wind turbine makers by 2012 by installing a 250-megawatt renewable energy plant in Egypt s Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea coast.
Egypt s state news agency quoted Emad Ghali, head of Siemens s renewable energy, oil and gas operations, as saying Egypt has huge potential in generating renewable energy, but has not used it optimally.
The agency s report gave no further details on the project.
Until recently Germany-based Siemens has ranked as the world s sixth biggest manufacturer of wind turbines in terms of market share, behind Denmark s Vestas, US General Electric, Spain s Gamesa, Germany s Enercon and India s Suzlon.
Siemens, which is Europe s biggest engineering conglomerate, said last week it was on track towards becoming one of the world s top three wind turbine makers by 2012.
Research shows that the world market for wind turbine installations was worth about ?45 billion ($61.25 billion) in 2009 and that global installed capacity will more than double to 340 gigawatts by 2013.
Egypt, an oil and gas producer, has been developing wind power along its eastern Red Sea coast. It has wind farms at Zafarana and Hurghada in the area, and has so far installed capacity of 430 megawatts of wind energy.
Officials say Egypt s combined oil and gas reserves will last the most populous Arab country roughly three decades, encouraging a shift to alternative energy sources, including wind, solar and nuclear.
The North African country expects to see its wind power capacity reach 7,200 megawatts by 2020 and is already boosting the capacity to 550 megawatts by May.
Egypt also aims to generate 12 percent of its power from wind farms out of a total of 20 percent from renewable sources by 2020 and is seeking to attract $110 billion in investments in its energy sector by 2027.
Its electricity ministry said in November it qualified 10 firms to build a 250-megawatt wind farm on its east coast, the country s first privately owned wind farm. -Reuters
Bonyan raises $34 million loan to finish mall
Egypt s Bonyan for Development and Trade said on Thursday it had raised LE 185 million ($34 million) in a syndicated loan to complete a furniture and home accessories mall it is building near Cairo.
The first phase of the mall, called Designopolis, in Sixth of October City on the western outskirts of Cairo is scheduled to open within three months, Bonyan said.
The seven-year loan, which has a two-year grace period, was arranged by Commercial International Bank, it said.
Private equity firm Citadel Capital holds a controlling stake in Bonyan. -Reuters
UAE money supply growth slows to 1.3 pct at end-Feb
Money supply in the United Arab Emirates grew 1.3 percent year-on-year at the end of February, the slowest rate of growth since at least 2001, central bank data showed on Thursday.
M3, the broadest measure of money circulating in the economy and an indicator of future inflation, grew 4.1 percent in January.
It fell to 926.7 billion dirhams ($252.4 billion) at the end of February, from 934.1 billion at the end of January, the data showed.
Money circulating in the second-largest Arab economy and the world s third largest oil producer had more than doubled in the two years to the end of 2008. -Reuters
Union Properties open to sell assets
Dubai s Union Properties is willing to sell all any of its projects if it receives a fair price, its chairman told UAE newspapers on Friday.
The third-largest developer in the Gulf Arab emirate has been hit by the global downturn, which has sent prices in Dubai s once-booming property sector tumbling some 50 percent from their peaks in 2008.
The developer has received offers for its Ritz Carlton hotel in Dubai which the debt-laden firm is hoping to sell for about 1.5 billion dirhams ($408.4 million).
The company s complete projects have achieved their investment targets, and it s not strange that we offer them to investors for sale particularly as we have giant projects under way, Khalid bin Kalban told the Arabic daily Al-Bayan.
Buyers are mainly investment companies and individuals who are looking to buy complete and rented properties with an income of 7-8 percent, he added.
In a separate interview with the UAE Arabic daily Al-Ittihad, Kalban said the funds raised from asset sales will be used to repay financial commitments and finance ongoing property projects.
The firm posted a third consecutive quarterly loss on provisions for contracting and property revaluation. It has 6.5 billion dirhams of outstanding debt, of which 2.8 billion had been rescheduled for payment to 2011 from 2009, with the remainder maturing in the long-term. -Reuters
Bharti board to meet Saturday, discuss Zain deal
Bharti Airtel s board is meeting on Saturday to discuss the progress of talks to buy Kuwaiti telecom Zain s assets in 15 African countries, a source with direct knowledge of the development said.
The source also said Bharti may put part of the purchase price in an escrow account to protect it from any potential issues, including ownership dispute in Zain s Nigeria operations, the source said.
Currently Bharti is aiming to meet the March 25 deadline, but there could be a slippage of a day or two. Tomorrow s board meet is crucial, the source said.
A Bharti spokesman declined to comment on the board meeting and the possible setting up of an escrow account.
Both Bharti and Zain have said $700 million of the purchase price would be paid one year after the completion of the deal, and the source said part of it would be put in the escrow account.
The companies are in exclusive talks until March 25. -Reuters
