Ministry of Health confirms new human bird flu case
Ministry of Health on Saturday said that a 25-year-old woman was infected with bird flu virus, making the total human cases infected by the virus 45, the official MENA news agency reported.
The woman had been transferred from a local hospital in Fayyum to a hospital in the capital after suffering high fever and been treated with the antiviral drug Tamiflu, Health Ministry spokesman Abdel Rahman Shaheen was quoted as saying.
Two Egyptian Squash players top world ranking
Egyptian Squash player Amr Shabana kept his place at the of the top world squash ranking for the second successive year. The second ranking went to the player Rami Ashour who is also Egyptian, and the third went to the French Gregory Gaultier.
In addition, the two Egyptian players Kareem Darweesh and Wael Al-Hendi got the eighth and ninth rankings successively. -SIS
Hilton Family of Brands in Egypt head to GCC
With 23 percent of Hilton Egypt s room revenue generated from the GCC region, the Hilton regional sales team headed to the GCC region last week for a two week road show to promote the Hilton Family hotels, AMEinfo reported.
The Hilton sales mission kicked off in Saudia Arabia in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam, moving on to Kuwait and Qatar and concluding in Bahrain.
In addition to showcasing the 18-strong Hilton and Conrad portfolio, the sales team would promote and sell new and existing products to the GCC market such as Hilton Mini Breaks, Hilton Honors Event Bonus and Personalized Online Groups (POGs).
“This annual trip helps us develop our strategic account relationships with our high value accounts, where our effort and focus is effectively used. The sales mission helps us to open new avenues and opportunities for each of the individual hotels, and for the regional sales office. As Hilton Family of Brands, we have very clear sales goals and strategies, and we firmly believe in fostering relationships in each country and region, said Raed Rabie, Regional Director of Sales, Hilton Egypt.
All countries look to tourism to help generate earnings. The GCC commands the largest outbound and inbound travel market in the region, both in terms of volume and value, and we want to increase our market share. We are very keen to attract new tour operators and hopefully loyal guests to our properties, added Rabie.
The rankings, published in the 2007 survey report by the independent research company, Business Development Research Consultants (BDRC), saw Hilton regain its pole position by achieving the highest score among all hospitality brands.
Egypt s GASC buys 125,000 tonnes wheat
Egypt s main government wheat buyer said on Saturday he had bought 125,000 tons of wheat for delivery from April 15-May 15, Reuters reported.
The General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) said on Thursday it was considering amending some specifications of wheat purchases to include the greatest number of origins, including from Europe. European traders said Egypt has adjusted its wheat specifications, and that the new criteria were more or less fulfilled by French wheat harvested during the current campaign.
The change had prompted hopes that Egypt would buy wheat from France, which it did on Friday, buying 125,000 tons of French wheat. Egypt is one of the world s leading wheat importers, usually buying more than 6 million tons a year. Most of GASC s wheat purchases in the current fiscal year have been of wheat of Russian and US origins. – Agencies
Egypt s gold market sees revival
Reuters reported Egypt s gold demand is likely to continue double-digit growth over the next five years as the economy of the most populous Arab country expands and tourism grows, a World Gold Council official said on Saturday.
The market in Egypt is doing really well, Moaz Barakat, managing director of the industry-funded World Gold Council in the Middle East, Turkey and Pakistan, said.
The economy is improving, many tourists are buying gold, and the government is reviving the market, he told Reuters.
Egypt was among the fastest growing countries in tourism last year, according to the World Tourism Organization.
Expo to showcase $10bn properties
Projects worth $10 billion will be showcased at the inaugural Next Move exhibition in Cairo, said the organizers.
According to Gulf Daily News, a host of leading property investment and finance companies from Egypt and the Arab world will gather in Cairo from April 16 to 19 for the exhibition, which is set to become the largest real estate investment exhibition in North Africa.
The Next Move exhibition, organized by ACG-ITF in association with Lead Marketing Solutions, is poised to be one of the most important regional events for the real estate sector and the confirmed participation of several leading exhibitors this year is proof of this, organizers said.
ACG-ITF chairman and chief executive officer Ahmed Ghozzi said that the encouraging pace of growth of the Egyptian economy and the developments in the country s real estate sector were a driving factor for to launch a specialized exhibition.
The growth in Egypt s real estate sector is nothing short of a phenomenon and holds tremendous significance to the country s overall growth. Given this scenario, it was imperative to provide a platform for various property market players to come together and capitalize on market opportunities and in the process contribute to sustained growth of the industry, said Ghozzi.
