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Intermittent blackouts strike Cairo several hours a day, with no warning for 11 million residents. That’s exactly where FirmGreen Inc. of Newport Beach, California wants to invest. “For a company like ours, it’s actually a good fit,” Dena Elbayoumy, general counsel for the company, which develops renewable-energy projects, said by telephone from Egypt’s capital. “We hope to improve stability in the country.” FirmGreen is among nine businesses including Google Inc. (GOOG) and Raytheon Co. (RTN) that will participate tomorrow in the U.S. government’s second trade mission to Egypt since September. The delegation is heavy on providers of basic services such as energy and water. The U.S. is seeking to boost exports to the Arab nation after a 20 percent decline since shortly before the ouster of former leader Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. “There’s an actual attempt by the U.S. government to encourage American businesses to invest in Egypt,” said Bessma Momani, a Middle East expert and a nonresident senior fellow for the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit research organization in Washington. “They’re really taking companies there on a ‘Team USA’ kind of approach,” to allay investment-climate concerns, she said by telephone.(...)
Trade Relationship “This trade mission reiterates the United States’ commitment to deepening our long trade relationship with Egypt and to growing the already strong connections between our respective business communities,” Hyatt said in a statement released when the trade mission was announced April 8. Last year, U.S. exports to Egypt were valued at $5.5 billion -- less than 0.5 percent of America’s 2012 exports of $1.5 trillion. Egypt, a longstanding ally, is a strategic partner for the U.S. in the Middle East, however. It controls the Suez Canal, a vital shipping route for oil and other goods.
"The spread of metro markets is attributable mainly to the tense security situation in the areas that were designated as sites for 'one-day markets', which are squares turned into shopping areas to curb the roaming vendor phenomenon," Raed al-Salmouni, a markets inspector in Cairo province, told Al-Shorfa. "Vendors have spread out once again and have found metro stations to be great locations for plying their trade," he said. Some metro stations have been observed to do brisk business, he said, such as Sadat station, the main station in Tahrir Square, al-Ataba and al-Shuhada metro stations, as well as others in lower income areas such as Dar el-Salam, al-Marg, Faisal and Halwan. Additionally, a marked increase has been observed in the number of cart vendors selling sandwiches and foul (fava beans), a staple of low-income citizens. (Waleed Abu al-Khair / Al-Shorfa)
More : http://al-shorfa.com/en_GB/articles/meii/features/2013/03/18/feature-02
Une délégation égyptienne gouvernementale, dirigée par le premier sous-secrétaire du commerce et de l'industrie, Anwar El-Sahragti, a poursuivi sa visite entamée du 4 au 7 février en cours à Washington pour discuter du renforcement de la coopération économique et commerciale entre Le Caire et Washington.
Les entretiens de la délégation égyptienne ont porté sur la hausse des exportations égyptiennes aux Etats-Unis dans le cadre du programme d'avantages douaniers, vu que le volume des exportations égyptiennes ne dépasse pas les 50 millions de dollars par an.(...) Il est à noter que les Etats-Unis sont le 2éme partenaire commercial de l'Egypte après l'UE. Le volume du commerce bilatéral a atteint prés de 8,5 milliards de dollars fin 2011. Plus: http://fr.allafrica.com/stories/201302071265.html
In the time Egypt is encountering economic challenges including budget deficit, the country’s pet food imports have reached around US$550 million for the course of 2012.
Dr. Muharram Helal, CEO of the Egyptian Union of Investors Associations (EUIA), said Egypt’s imports of cat and dog foods in 2012 have reached around US$ 550 million; while hundreds of thousands across the breadth of the country battle furiously to survive. In an exclusive statement to Amwal Al Ghad, Helal urged the government to study urgent mechanisms aiming to fill the incomes gab and to apply the social justice among citizens. It is necessary that Egypt’s industry and foreign trade ministry to adopt immediate decrees to ban importing those extravagant fancy commodities, Helal added.
Moreover, Amwal Al Ghad has obtained a copy of Foreign Trade Sector’s recent data which says Egypt’s imports of the luxury dispensable goods have totaled around US$4 billion, in which the pet food imports hit US$400 million before the course of 2012
Dubai’s Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) expects to bid for the supermarket arm of Egypt’s Mansour Group in the first quarter, MAF chief executive said, after it posted a 10 percent rise in annual revenue. Mansour Group, also the largest distributor of General Motors cars in Egypt, aims to sell supermarket chain Metro and discount grocery store Kheir Zaman. Sources told Reuters in December that the deal was valued at $200 million to $300 million (...) The discussions signal growing appetite by Gulf-based firms to expand their presence in the most populous Arab state at a time when valuations are low due to political strife in Egypt.
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Businesses Establishments KAD plans to open six commercial centres, under the name Mega Build, within two years, with EGP 8bn in investments for the benefit of the International Commercial Centres Management Company (ICCMC). It will also inaugurate the Maxim Mall project in New Cairo owned by Maxim Holdings with EGP 150m worth of investments. KAD is also close to signing two contracts for the management of two other projects in New Cairo and Obour city, with EGP 250m in investments. Mohamed Elhamy Kerdany, president of the Egyptian Council for Shopping Centres (ECSC), said KAD plans to offer six business centers within two years under the name “Megabytes” in the cities of New Cairo, 6th of October, Al-Shorouq, Katameya, the Pyramid Plateau, and the northern coast, at a cost of EGP 8bn. Daily news Egypt More : http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2013/03/28/commercial-centres-investment-plans/
Month-long discounts are bringing a needed boost to Egypt's economy, in particular the clothing, home furnishing and electrical appliance market. Discounts range between 20% and 70% and primarily affect the price of clothes, electrical appliances and home furnishings, said Raed al-Salmouni, a market controller in Cairo. Market activity has been "excellent" since the start of the sales and merchants have generally observed government conditions. To date, he said, violations have been "minor": Some shop owners have marked discounted prices in places that are difficult to spot, and others have failed to label items with detailed sizing information, product description or country of origin. The various chambers of commerce have formed committees to monitor market activity, he said. Islam al-Ali, who owns a clothing shop in downtown Cairo, welcomed the sales season. "The markets really needed it, to make up for losses after the recent lull in the market," he said. Interest in sales this year has been "more than excellent", al-Ali said, noting that customer demand has been greater outside the downtown area, particularly at night, and for women's and children's clothes. (al-Shorfa) More : http://al-shorfa.com/en_GB/articles/meii/features/2013/02/19/feature-02
In 2012, the Egyptian exports to the Thai markets declined on account of exiting some Thai industrial investments from Egypt after the Egyptian revolution; recording $ 40 million in return for $ 50 million in 2010 and 2011. (...) El Korey added to "Amwal Al Ghad" that some Thai businessmen withdrew and froze their activities in Egypt since the revolution has erupted owing to the political instability; calling for using clear mechanisms for restoring security and reaching consensus in Egypt's political street to attract several investments. More: http://amwalalghad.com/en/investment-news/industry-trade/14065-egyptian-exports-to-thailand-dives-to-40-mln-in-2012.html
CAIRO — During its heyday, it was famed as the lively and romantic heart of Arabic music — a Cairo street modeled after Paris’ boulevards, home to musicians, belly-dancers and instrument makers.
Two new governorates in Upper Egypt have been added to the Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZ) agreement which grants participating Egyptian manufacturers duty free access to the US markets provided that they satisfy an agreed upon Israeli component.
Beni Suef and Minya governorates are the latest additions bringing the total number of participating governorates to sixteen out of twenty seven. "We cannot accurately quantify the impact of the new additions, but we are expecting a sizeable increase in QIZ exports," said Mohamed Qassem, head of the Readymade Garments Export Council and owner of a firm participating in QIZ. The two governorates were added to the agreement after securing the joint agreement of all parties to the Protocol. In recent weeks, the Egyptian government has been seeking to reduce the stipulated Israeli content requirement from 10.5 per cent to 8 per cent.
Companies participating in QIZ have exported goods worth a total $931 million in 2011 and imported a total $97.5 million. Since the agreement was signed in 2004, the total value of Egypt's exports has increased steadily, current totaling $5 billion.
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