Dr. Waleed Abdel Ghaffar, Head of Technical Committee for Suez Canal Corridor, met today the members of the Spanish consulting office that signed a contract about establishing three tunnels in Suez Canal at total costs € 840.000. Both sides discussed the steps that the Spanish office would take during conducting a study, which is supposed to be finished within 9 months. Abdel Ghaffar has reviewed with the members the whopping venture and its general plan as well as the sectors by which they will start, like West Port Said Port, Technology Valley, Qantara area, west and northwest of Suez Gulf and Ain Sukhna Port. The Spanish side showed its readiness to participate in this whopping venture, which is one of the biggest ventures in Egypt and the whole world; confirming their interest in studying the investment opportunities available in the venture in order to take part in them. More»

Dr Bassem Auda, Egyptian Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, will receive today the editors-in-chief of the national, party and private newspapers along with some writers and thinkers in order to highlight the ministry's future plans on supporting the social justice among the Egyptian people. The meeting will also explain the new system of freeing the flour. This new system will face the process of smuggling the flour to the black market as well as assisting in providing good bread to those who deserve it. Furthermore, the minister will discuss the project of distributing the butane and bread by coupons, and the developments of the season of the local wheat, in addition to the diesel file. More»

Libya will soon start shipping oil to neighboring Egypt on soft credit terms, two senior Libyan officials said, as Cairo struggles to pay for energy imports and avoid fuel shortages. The officials told Reuters that Tripoli would supply Cairo with $1.2 billion worth of crude at world prices but on interest free credit for a year, with the first cargo expected to arrive next month. Egypt has slid into economic crisis since president Hosni Mubarak was overthrown two years ago. Most international companies have reduced oil product supplies to the country fearing non-payments, as the government tries to curb soaring energy subsidy costs which swallow up a fifth of its budget. Libya plans to ship one to two cargoes a month for refining in Egypt under a deal that involves 12 million barrels of crude over 12 months, the oil industry officials said. With foreign currency reserves running low, Egypt has not bought any crude on the open market since January. In rough terms the Libyan deal would be worth slightly more than half its 2012 imports, which the central bank put at $2 billion. More»

A group of Egyptian businessmen is currently conducting intensive negotiations with their Greek counterparts seeking to allure Greece’s investments to the Egyptian market within the upcoming period, the Arab-Hellenic Chamber Of Commerce & Development (AHCCD)’s vice president said on Sunday. Mr. Fathy Morsy – the Vice President of AHCCD – stated that the Egyptian and Greek businessmen’ talks have coincided with the mounting financial crisis alongside with the tightening austerity measures in Greece. Morsy further told ‘Amwal Al Ghad’ that the Egypt-Greek businessmen’ negotiations reached their final stage last Tuesday after the Egyptian business delegation – which comprised a group of investors in multiple production sectors - had ended its 3-day visit to Greek. The delegation has hold talks with Greek investors over opening up joint projects in Egypt within the upcoming period. Moreover, the AHCCD vice chairman noted that the Egyptian-Greek businessmen talks will be resumed within the coming days as a business delegation from Greece will be paying  soon an immediate visit to Egypt. Morsy concluded by saying the investors in Greece who met with the Egyptian business delegation have expressed their genuine willingness to make future investments in Egypt. More»

The Egyptian Minister of Investment, Osama Saleh, has revealed that an international tender will be offered during the upcoming week to develop the first phase of the economic area in the Northwest of Suez Gulf, an area of 14 kilometers. This tender is supposed to take in the development processes and the entire infrastructure's works in this first phase; asserting that this tender will not affect the state's treasury, said the minister. Saleh has pointed out that the development plans for the region this year aim to develop an area of 20 square Km, in addition to establishing the fundamentals of 550 factories, at total investment up to $ 6 billion as well as providing services for the region and establishing an urban community during the following periods. On other context, he explained that China’s total investment volume in 147 Egyptian projects and companies has exceeded $ 500 million during 2012. More»

The Food Industries Chamber, at the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI), has invited the companies, which are members in the chamber, to take part in the functions of the international convention PACKOLOGY 2013 in Italy from 11 to 14 June 2013. The second convention will be held in the Italian city of Rimini, by the participation of various exhibitors across the world. The convention is specialized in the food industries, packaging materials and accessories, besides equipment and machines in the field of packaging. The convention's sectors, besides the convention's industrial wings, include allocating areas for the universities' departments, the research centers that will present activities and ventures as well as novelties that will be implemented in the packaging industry, also allocating an area for the small enterprises to provide new solutions in the sector. Furthermore, many conferences will be held during the convention in order to let the makers meet and exchange the experiences. More»

Dr Hesham Kandil, Egyptian Prime Minister, said that the Chinese industrial zone in Northwest of Suez Gulf is a part of the Egyptian dream, which the Egyptian government is working on since it came to the office in 2012. He explained that this dream starts from Suez Gulf to the Technology Valley in Port Said, aiming to developing the Suez Canal as just a waterway that its outcomes reach $ 5.2 billion annually to higher outcomes that may amount to $ 100 billion through promoting more ventures. The development plan of this area takes in establishing a number of comprehensive touristic places, more and above developing the ships' terminals, said Egypt's Premier. This plan will provide as to thousands of direct job opportunities during its different stages, which would start by developing 100 kilometers as a first phase and to provide almost 700.000 job opportunities, and its outcomes will improve the state's treasury. Kandil emphasized that the area is not limited to the whopping ventures only, but it includes a number of light and medium industries so as to help the youth to find jobs in this industrial area. More»

The Egyptian Syrian Business Council has called for holding an urgent meeting with Mr. Khaled Al Azhary, Egyptian Minister of Manpower and Immigration, in order to demand increasing the Syrian labor in Egypt, specifically in the new Syrian ventures. Mr. Khaldoun al-Mowakaa, Chairman of the Egyptian Syrian Business Council, stated that he sent a demand to meet with the Egyptian Minister of Manpower since more than two months in order to discuss ramping up the Syrian labor to 15% or 20%, instead of the current rate, 10%, but there is no respond so far. He confirmed that increasing the rate will be for the interest of the two sides, Egypt and Syria. Khaldoun, in his statement to "Amwal Al Ghad", said that the trained Syrian labor in the field of textile will take over the responsibility of training the Egyptian labor. On the other hand, Khaldoun has condemned the way by which the Syrian businessmen in Egypt are being treated; calling for improving this way. More»

Nutreco has signed an agreement to acquire the remaining 67% share held by its two partners in its Egyptian participation Hendrix Misr. Nutreco entered the Egyptian market in 2001 by acquiring 33% of Hendrix Misr which has developed successfully since then. Full ownership of Hendrix Misr offers Nutreco a good base to expand its activities in this attractive growth market. Egypt is the world's second largest tilapia producer after China. The Egyptian market for extruded fish feed is expected to achieve double-digit growth for the foreseeable future. Hendrix Misr is Egypt's market leader in extruded fish feed (mainly tilapia) which is sold under the trade name Skretting, and a leading producer of poultry feed concentrates. Total revenue in 2012 was approximately EUR 25 million. Nutreco intends to expand the current fish feed capacity of 25,000 tonnes to 75,000 tonnes by 2015. Viggo Halseth, Nutreco's Chief Operating Officer Aquaculture: "This acquisition fits in very well with Nutreco's strategy 'Ambition 2016 - driving sustainable growth', which aims to expand in growth geographies as well as in fish feed for non-salmonid species. By moving to full ownership, we are able to accelerate the next phase of our growth ambition in this attractive market." More»

Egypt aims next month to issue a schedule of gradual rises in the subsidized prices various industries pay for fuel, to bring them near to world levels in four years, its trade and industry minister said. A reduction in energy subsidies is widely seen as an important step towards allowing Egypt to secure a $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to shore up its finances. Egypt spends around a fifth of its budget on fuel subsidies, and the government is under pressure to reduce them to plug a deficit that has mushroomed since the popular uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak in early 2011. A growing population and a falling currency are expected to push the energy subsidy bill to more than 120 billion Egyptian pounds ($17.4 billion) in the financial year that ends in June. Trade and Industry Minister Hatem Saleh said the government has been negotiating with industry leaders on the plan to increase prices. "A very big dialogue is taking place with the Federation of Industries. I expect that within a week or two we will bring in the petroleum minister, and there will be a protocol so that the direction is clear for everyone," he said in an interview. More»