Egypt sees 2009/10 spending of $57.6 bln Egypt expects to spend LE 323.9 billion ($57.6 billion) and receive LE 225 billion in revenue in the fiscal year starting July 1, the Finance Ministry said on Monday. The budget figures equate to a shortfall of LE 98.9 billion, equivalent to a deficit of 8.4 percent of expected GDP, in line with previous government forecasts. The deficit was expected to be 6.9 percent in 2008/09, the government said in March. The statement also said nominal gross domestic product - which is not adjusted for inflation - would grow 13 percent to LE 1,181 billion. Egypt s real GDP growth has fallen from highs of around 7 percent in 2007 and 2008 to 4.3 percent in the first quarter of 2009. Inflation in the most populous Arab country has also fallen in recent months but remains high, at an annualized 9.8 percent across the country in May. The budget statement did not include estimates for actual spending in the 2008/09 fiscal year. For the first nine months of fiscal 2008/09, revenue was LE 189.6 billion and spending was LE 243.6 billion, according to Finance Ministry figures on the central bank website. The Egyptian government spends heavily on a subsidy program which provides cheap petrol and bread to Egyptians, representing 18.5 percent of the 2009/10 budget spending. Its total budget for subsidies in 2009/10 is LE 59.8 billion pounds, including LE 33.7 billion for petroleum products and LE 13.8 billion for food subsidies. The subsidy bill is expected to decline from this year as a result of the decrease of global oil and commodities prices, the statement quoted Finance Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali as saying. But the government is careful not to decrease the quantity of commodities allocated to citizens and without any increase in their prices, he said. -Reuters Egypt index gains 1.4 pct in low volume Egypt s benchmark index ended 1.4 percent higher in muted volumes as local investors dominated trade. As a follow up to what happened in the last hour yesterday the market opened higher today driven by mainly retail appetite, says Wafik Dawood from Naeem Brokerage. Local investors accounted for more than 99 percent of all trade, according to stock exchange data. After the sharply higher open, the index traded flat most of the day and pared some of its gains in the afternoon to close 75 points higher at 5,547 points. Mobinil declined 4.3 percent and Oriental Weavers shed 7.2 percent. Many of the leading gainers by volume were small cap firms, with El Nasr Clothes and Textiles (Kabo) up 1.4 percent. -Reuters Mobile subscribers top 44 million The number of mobile subscribers in Egypt reached 44.6 million by the end of the first quarter of fiscal year 2009, compared to 32.2 millions in December 2009, according to a recent report by the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA). Mobinil continues to be the largest mobile operator in terms of subscribers with a 47.48 percent market shares followed by Vodafone Egypt, which has 18.9 million subscribers displaying a market share of 42.36 percent. Etisalat Misr has 4.5 million subscribers which is equivalent to a market share of almost 10 percent. -Al-Mal Centamin Egypt Pours First Gold at Sukari 1/1 Centamin Egypt Ltd said that the first gold from the Sukari Gold Project was poured on Friday June 26. This milestone marks the start of production and commissioning at the Sukari goldmine ahead of the commercial ramp-up of production, which is anticipated over the coming months. Sukari is the first modern commercial goldmine to be operated in Egypt, and has a current mineral reserve of 142Mt at 1.4g/t gold for 6.4Moz. The current mineral resource stands at 191Mt at 1.53g/t gold for 9.39Moz Measured and Indicated, and 64Mt at 1.7g/t for 3.5Moz Inferred. Centamin managing director and CEO Josef El-Raghy stated: The first gold pour from Sukari marks the beginning of our production from the largest goldmine to come on-stream this year. The initial production of gold dore came from ore mined in the Amun Zone of the Sukari hill and represents Egypt s first modern-day gold production. The 4mtpa capacity plant will attain production rates of around 200,000 oz Au per annum by year-end. Centamin is currently stockpiling ore in anticipation of a ramp-up in production later this year. -American Chronicle Egypt energy investments covered The Ministry of Economic Development said that it has contracted $5 billion worth of investments with different international institutions to cover the local needs for the electricity and energy sector. The targeted investments in that sector are expected to reach LE 17 billion within the current year. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Electricity and Energy approved the establishment of nine new electricity stations with combined capacities of 11,000 MW over the five-year period starting the financial year 2012. These stations will include both conventional (i.e. natural gas) and unconventional (wind, thermal, etc.) types with estimated investment costs of LE 120 billion (equivalent to $21.4 billion). -Al-Masry Al-Youm Steel producers may up selling prices Sources within the steel industries have expected steel producers to increase average selling prices by LE 100/ton due to the increase in billet prices from $380/ton last month to $410/ton and the surge in scrap prices from $200/ton at the beginning of the month to $225/ton. The sources, meanwhile, expected that Ezz Steel Rebars will maintain its selling price at LE 3,050/ton which is currently higher by LE 200/ton to LE 150/ton than other local producers, reported Al-Mal. According to Al-Masry Al-Youm, 70 Egyptian companies have imported 1.84 million steel tons since the start of the year until June 22. The largest steel importers have been Al Garhy Factories, Beshay Steel, Ezz Group, Al Marakby Steel and the Arab Contractors. The imports came mainly from Turkey, India, Ukraine and many other countries. Meanwhile, imports of cement during this period amounted to 88,000 tons.
