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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 February 1999 Issue No. 417 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 February 1999 Issue No. 417
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Special Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Aid down
INTERNATIONAL donors have pledged up to $2.5 billion in aid for Egypt this year. The pledges came during a meeting of the World Bank's Consultative Group held in Paris last week.A total of $1.5 billion will be in the form of grants and $1 billion in long-term development loans. This is $1 billion less than the $3.5 billion which had been pledged at the group's last meeting in 1997. World Bank officials attributed the decline to the fact that Egypt is now relying more on the private sector to invest in its economic development, including infrastructure projects.
"We enjoy an almost balanced budget, an inflation rate almost as low as in the European Community, a low rate of foreign debt and a reasonable cushion in terms of foreign exchange reserves," Egypt's Public Sector Minister Atef Ebeid said during the meeting. He said Egypt's deficit represents less than one per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) while its inflation rate in 1997-1998 was less than 3.8 per cent.
"I would not see the decline as a drop in foreign assistance to Egypt but rather as a maturing of the economic reform programme to better suit the new needs of the Egyptian economy, with more emphasis on developing self-sustaining programmes," Minister of Economy Youssef Boutros Ghali told reporters.
The 16 donor countries and 10 international organisations attending the meeting expressed admiration for Egypt's success in stabilising the economy and for the structural reforms completed so far. However, World Bank officials urged Egyptian authorities to accelerate implementation of the remaining reforms, particularly the privatisation of public enterprises, and to reduce import tariffs.
On social issues, the donor group was unanimous in its opinion that a direct assault on poverty should be the government's highest priority. It said an increase in investments, the reform of trade and financial sectors and improvements in the educational system were all ways to alleviate poverty.
News at EFG-Hermes
THE EGYPTIAN financial group EFG-Hermes -- Egypt's biggest investment banking group with a net worth of LE155 million -- last week attracted much of the attention of those working in the capital market. First, it announced that it has applied to the Capital Market Authority to be listed in the Egyptian stock exchange, which was an expected move especially after it was recently listed in the London Stock Exchange where its shares are currently traded as Global Depository Receipts (GDRs). Then, and rather surprising, came the stepping down of Aly El-Tahri, managing director of Hermes Investment Banking Company -- an EFG-Hermes subsidiary -- and the group's board member. The group acts as a holding company with nine subsidiaries working in the fields of fund management, portfolio management, brokerage, direct investment and investment banking.According to Alexander Starker, the group's chief financial officer, El-Tahri's resignation was due to personal reasons. Starker said that El-Tahri will retain his membership on the group's board, but only as a non-executive member.
Besides El-Tahri, the group's board at the moment includes Mohamed Teymour as chairman, Alaaeddin Saba, Hisham Tawfik, Ahmed Heikal and Hassan Heikal, who will replace El-Tahri.
Starker said that El-Tahri may sell only a marginal slice of his 7.1 per cent stake in the group's equity. According to an agreement that the group signed with the American Merrill Lynch, which managed its GDRs launching last year, none of the group's shareholders can divest major stakes of their holdings through an 18-year period that ends in 2000.
El-Tahri co-founded Hermes Investments in 1994 with Saba. In 1996, Hermes merged with EFG to form EFG-Hermes.
Americana '99
A HIGH-ranking delegation from the Ministry for Environmental Affairs, the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) and a number of Egyptian environmental consulting companies will attend "Americana '99", a major environmental technology event scheduled for March 1999 to be held in Montreal, Quebec."[The event] is specifically designed for private and public sector enterprises and organisations concerned with environmental issues," said Joseph Tadros, commercial officer at the Canadian Embassy in Egypt. "This year's agenda focuses on day-to-day problems encountered in the field of industry and the most up-to-date techniques to solve them," he added.
These sorts of events have become prominent in recent years. "It is very important to get acquainted with the most up-to-date techniques to combat environmental pollution," said Tadros.
Magdi Alam of the EEAA said, "It is noteworthy that a high percentage of pollution in Egypt is due to out-of-date industrial techniques." Egyptian industries have so far spent a total of three billion pounds on compliance with the 1994 Environment Law. "More money is expected to be spent on this," added Alam.
Egypt is keen to attract foreign investment in the field of environmental technology.
Three months ago, a delegation of Canadian businessmen visited Egypt to look at investment possibilities. "They were impressed, and discussed the possibility of establishing a number of projects for waste-water management and air monitoring," said Alam.
This year's event will focus on hazardous and solid waste management, air quality management, soil remediation and international markets, amongst other issues. "More than 400 exhibitors from the two Americas will participate," said Tadros.
Gold fair
A FAIR displaying state-of-the-art gold-moulding machines will be held for the first time in Egypt. Organised by 15 Italian companies, the fair, scheduled to take place in April, will be attended by goldsmiths and gold manufacturers, the majority of whom still depend entirely on outdated machines to shape their gold."It is a wonderful opportunity for us to get acquainted with the latest technology in this field," said Amir Nessim, a member of the Gold Manufacturers Division at the Egyptian Federation of Industries. "Egypt has the best manufacturers yet items of gold imported into Egypt are finer in shape because the machines used abroad are far more advanced," Nessim said.
A number of workshops will be held in which Italian experts will answer questions related to technical problems associated with the industry, as well as introduce the latest techniques in gold moulding.
The organisers have agreed to activate the machines on display. "By doing so, we will no longer depend on specifications or pamphlets which can only be fully appreciated by experts," Nessim added.
A number of Italian experts attending the event have offered to check the machines exported to Egypt free of charge.
