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Al-Ahram Weekly 15 - 21 June 2000 Issue No. 486 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 15 - 21 June 2000 Issue No. 486
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Web site for business
THE BRITISH Embassy has launched a Web site in both Arabic and English: www.fco.gov.uk, offering information on the embassy's various commercial services."We have developed the site in response to the growing trend of Internet use in Cairo and increasing inquiries received by e-mail about the embassy's services," said British Ambassador Graham Boyce.
The commercial section will provide information for local businesses interested in developing links with British companies or exporting Egyptian products to Britain.
On 31 May, the British government launched a new unified brand, Trade Partners UK, under which it will extend support to British businesses operating overseas. The new brand will be launched through a new Internet gateway.
Natural gas galore
A LETTER of intent was signed by BP Amoco and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) for the establishment of a twin development complex on the Mediterranean coast, the anglo-American company has announced. The complex will include two projects: a two-train Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) one and a two-train Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) one.The LNG plant -- whose first shipment is expected in 2004 -- will be designed to process and ship LNG to Mediterranean and other markets.
David Nagel, BP Amoco president in Egypt, said, "One of [the] key markets for Egyptian LNG is the fast-growing Spanish market, which is currently undergoing liberalisation. Our company is at present a gas marketer in the country."
BP Amoco is pursuing other markets as well. The company submitted a proposal in 1998 to supply LNG to Turkey's Izmir area.
The NGL plant will supply the growing demand for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in Egypt. The first delivery of LPG to the Egyptian market is scheduled for early 2003.
Indian investment
IN AMERIYA, near Alexandria, the Alexandria Tyre Company has entered into a joint-venture acrylic fibres project with the Birla Group, an Indian chemical firm. Total investment is projected at LE1 billion. Production is due to start at 45,000 tons per year, but business plans call for capacity to rise to 90,000 tons. The acrylic fibres will be used in textiles for blankets, clothing and carpets. Initially, 80 per cent of production will be for the domestic market. However, eventually, investors are planning to redirect all production toward the regional export markets.Wiring Africa
REPRESENTATIVES of African and global telecommunications carriers and Internet service providers gathered last week in Cairo to discuss an ambitious project for laying a 32,000-kilometre submarine fiber optic cable around the entire continent of Africa.The project, estimated to cost some $1.9 billion, will enable African nations to communicate directly with each other as well as with the rest of the world for the first time. Currently most calls between African countries and to international destinations are routed via Europe, a process which costs some $400 million annually.
Dubbed "Africa ONE," the project is scheduled to be in service by 2002. The cable system is designed to automatically restore any interruptions to service, thus providing infrastructure crucial to the flourishing of the telecommunications market -- including the Internet -- throughout Africa.
A private company, Africa ONE Ltd, owns and will operate and maintain the system which will be connected to the Global Crossing Network, a leading provider of global broadband capacity with links in more than 200 cities worldwide. Lucent Technologies will be providing the telecommunications equipment and software for the project. The network will derive its revenues from selling capacity and connectivity.
Japanese funds flow in
JAPAN is to give Egypt $45 million in aid, according to an agreement signed last week between Ahmed El-Darsh, minister of planning and international cooperation, and Japanese Ambassador to Egypt Takaya Suto.The grant will be used in developing agricultural projects in the New Valley and in Marsa Matrouh. In addition, it will finance the restructuring of the Fayyoum aqueducts and the completion of the Suez Canal Bridge, on which work had begun in 1997 through a previous Japanese grant.
El-Darsh told a press conference that the Egyptian government is also studying a Japanese proposal to finance the third stage of the underground metro.
Japan's aid programme to Egypt began in 1982. Today, total Japanese financial assistance to Egypt has reached $10 billion, a third of which was given in grants and two-thirds in soft loans. Of this total, development projects have received sums ranging between $60 to $80 million.
Suto said Japanese investments in Egypt are currently estimated at $188 million, adding that his government encourages Japanese investors to do business in the Egyptian market.
There is, however, a serious trade imbalance between the two countries -- the annual value of Japanese exports to Egypt is $1 billion while Egyptian exports to Japan stand at only $100 million.
