Sukhna back to owner THE HOLDING Company for Tourism and Cinema (HOTAC) decided last week to put an end to the controversial deal of Al-Sukhna Land in Ain Sukhna on the Gulf of Suez, after the sixth company in a row, Marina D'Or, refused to complete the selling procedures and pay 25 per cent of the total price within 10 days. According to a statement by HOTAC, the company decided to stop the deal at the sixth company, which proposed LE1,400 per metre, until it finds other alternatives for the project in coordination with the governorate of Suez. Four months ago, HOTAC and the Egyptian General Company for Tourism and Hotels (EGOTH) together with Suez Governorate auctioned off the land and hotel buildings of Ain Sukhna Hotel on the Suez Gulf, and adjacent land which includes the sulphur water spring, for an unprecedented price of LE1,716 per metre. Nine companies competed in the bid to buy HOTAC's 112 feddans (466,000 metres), which overlooks the sea and has the hotel in its vicinity. The winner would also have the right to use the 58 feddans (243,000 metres) belonging to the governorate of Suez which includes the sulphur water spring. Al-Sukhna Resorts Company (a company under establishment at the time of the auction), won the auction with a bid of LE801 million, in addition to LE21 million to be paid annually to the Suez governorate, with a five per cent increase every 10 years. The winner was to pay 25 per cent of the total price within 10 days after the auction, but Al-Sukhna Resorts asked for more time because it was under establishment, but the request was turned down by HOTAC and EGOTH and they liquidated the company's LE3 million Letter of Guarantee. The same procedure was taken with other companies which tailed Al-Sukhna Resorts Company, namely Ramco for Tourist Villages, Emaar Misr, the International Group for Real Estate Investments and Urban Development (Al-Hazeq), Egypt's Sons for Tourist Investments in partnership with Travco Resorts and Hotels, and finally Marina D'Or. As a result, the government liquidated their Letters of Guarantee worth LE18 million. Big winners THREE Egyptian petroleum companies were chosen among the best 10 Arab companies listed in Arab bourses, according to a petroleum and gas market watch lately conducted by the Lebanese Al-Iktissad Wal-Aamal magazine. The poll, which surveyed 1,000 Arab companies in the fields of gas, petroleum and petrochemicals chose the Middle East Oil Refineries (Midor), Alexandria Minerals Oil Company (AMOC) and Sidi Krir Petrochemicals Co. (SIDPEC) as the second, sixth and 10th best companies respectively. The Saudi Arabian Phosphates Consortium (SAPC) won the first position. The poll indicated that the latest improvement in the performance of many companies in Arab bourses is largely due to the fact that Arab countries have adopted new investment-friendly regulations and voluntarily adhered to principles of transparency, "which ultimately led to an influx in foreign direct investment into the sector," the poll stated. Investment conference SENIOR government officials, key Arab investors and major multinational companies will meet in Cairo next month during the second Cairo Investment Forum scheduled for 10-11 December. Building on Egypt's success in improving the investment climate through a full package of new regulations, the conference will provide a good opportunity to participants to get acquainted with these latest regulations. "Last year's event was a big success. This year, we expect a bigger success," commented Nevine El-Shafie, vice-chairman of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zone (GAFI), during a press conference that was held this week. El-Shafie was referring to the fact that Egypt was ranked top reformer among 175 countries surveyed by the World Bank's and IFC's (International Finance Corporation) Doing Business report of 2007. Moreover, there is an upward trend for foreign direct investment (FDI) influx into the country which started in 2004 and continued this year to an all time record of LE11 billion. "This is a good indicator that new investment regulations have started to bear fruit." In addition to discussing macro-economic policies, the investment climate, and the investment opportunities in real estate, tourism, transportation and energy sectors, the conference will highlight the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and proposed means to finance it.
