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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 23 - 29 November 2000 Issue No.509 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 23 - 29 November 2000 Issue No.509
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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FOREIGN currency reserves rose from $14.642 billion to $14.670 billion between July and August 2000, says the monthly report from the Central Bank of Egypt. Reserves stood at $17.471 billion in August 1999. Bank deposits increased from LE260 billion in July 2000 to LE 264 billion in August 2000. Deposits had stood at LE238 billion in August 1999.
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters GERMANY will provide two grants of DM36 million and DM88 million for the funding of projects in the electricity, industry, agriculture and education sectors. The two agreements were signed by Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Ahmed EL-Darsh and the Ambassador of the German Federal Republic within the framework of the Egyptian-German joint committee.
INDUSTRY and Technology Minister Mustafa El-Rifa'i has said that a number of investment projects will be offered to banks, business federations and industrial areas, as well as the ministries of foreign affairs and the economy. This is a step towards curtailing sporadic investments, which do not meet the demands of either the local market or export drives. El-Rifa'i added that the General Authority for Industrialisation has approved projects worth an estimated LE2.8 billion in annual production, and offered up to 10,000 employment opportunities.
PUBLIC Enterprise Minister Mukhtar Khattab has announced that 42 hotels will be offered for public subscription over the next two years. However, four historic hotels will not be privatised. He added that investors are also being invited to buy up to 50 loss-making public companies in which the government does not intend to invest more money. They are presently undergoing restructuring through debt settlement and early pension schemes.
THE TOSHKA mega project will offer up to 60,000 employment opportunities in the first phase of its completion, the Minister of Water Resources Mahmoud Abu Zeid has confirmed. An additional 300,000 jobs, in "indirect" employment, will also be created. Toshka will not be restricted solely to agricultural development, said the minister, but rather will also include industrial, mining, touristic and construction projects.
RAMADAN commodities are to be offered at a 25-per-cent discount by consumer cooperatives. High-quality products at prices lower than those offered by private retailers will be available according to Mohamed Hassan, chairman of Al-Ahram Company for Consumer Cooperatives. Discounts will be available for soap, oil, flour, beans and nuts, dried apricots, prunes and figs. Customer complaints in case of dashed expectations will be received via phone on Cairo-3909023.
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