Author Archives: enterpriseam admin

Egypt is open for business. That’s the message Investment and International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr plugged in an interview with Bloomberg's David Westin (watch, runtime 4:29). "We're rebranding Egypt, improving the business environment, and making sure that more investments come in from the US and other partnering countries," she said. The new Investment Act now […]

Terror attacks targeting Egypt of late are no different than those that have taken place in London and Paris, Tourism Minister Yehia Rashed told Reuters, adding that “these things happen.” “I think it's proven [that] Egypt is secure. It is safe and tourism is back,” Rashed said on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market […]

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi touched on the economy and social issues at the third National Youth Conference, which kicked off in Ismailia yesterday. El Sisi reaffirmed the importance of the government’s “difficult but necessary” economic reform program. He said that the state is working on creating more job opportunities to improve unemployment rates and […]

Egypt currently has 2.6 months’ worth of wheat reserves and expects to buy up to 3.8 mn tonnes from local farmers, Supply Ministry Ali El Moselhy told Reuters. The remarks came as El Moselhy inaugurated the wheat harvest season. He said the reserves figure does not include “quantities of wheat contracted for by GASC but […]

Goodbye, Social Fund for Development. Hello, SME Development Authority:Prime Minister Sherif Ismail has signed off on the establishment of a small- and medium-sized company development authority under the auspices of the Trade and Industry Ministry as a replacement for the Social Fund for Development. The decision was published in the Official Gazette (pdf) on Monday. […]

The Social Solidarity Ministry had apparently raised the minimum requirement employers must pay in social insurance, said the ministry's legal counsel Ahmed Shehat in a meeting with the Union of Egyptian Investors Associations. He did not state how much the ministry had raised this minimum requirement, according to statements picked up by Al Masry Al […]

MOVES- Lafarge CEO Eric Olsen will step down in July, reportedly under pressure from three big shareholders with strong opinions about how he should do his job, the Financial Times says. Among those shareholders: Nassef Sawiris. Oddly enough, the FT reports, it was Lafarge’s acquisition of Orascom’s contruction arm in a decade ago that saw […]

EARNINGS WATCH- Arafa Holding recorded a consolidated net profit of USD 7.8 mn in 2016, down from USD 12.45 mn in 2015, a 37% dip. The company said the float of the Egyptian pound had no effect on its results.

New Zealand is considering restricting laptops and other large electronic devices on flights from some Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East, Reuters reports, citing the country’s Prime Minister. The move would follow similar restrictions imposed by the US, UK, and Australia. The restrictions would affect passengers flying from Dubai and Doha, where carriers Emirates and […]