General Motors (GM.N) and German chemicals firm BASF (BASFn.DE) reopened facilities in Egypt on Sunday while Electrolux (ELUXb.ST) said it would partly resume operations on Monday. Electrolux, the world's second-biggest home appliances maker with nearly 7,000 employees in Egypt, suspended production in Egypt on Wednesday due to the unstable security situation. The Swedish company, with around 10 production facilities on the outskirts of Cairo, said it was assessing developments continuously and operations would partly resume on Monday. More than 700 people have died, most of them backers of ousted president Mohamed Morsi, in four days of violence during which the army-backed government launched a fierce crackdown on his supporters. Electrolux's turnover in Egypt topped 2 billion crowns ($307 million) last year, out of total sales of about 110 billion. The real estate arm of family-owned conglomerate Al Futtaim Group said on Sunday work on Cairo Festival City - a 3 million square meter residential, commercial and retail development around an hour's drive from areas worst affected by violence - was suspended on Wednesday. "They (employees) have been instructed to stay at home or at a safe place ever since and the situation is being reviewed on a daily basis to ensure the safety of all our people," a spokesman for the United Arab Emirates-based firm said. Other international firms said they were open again, with security staff monitoring events closely at production sites mostly some distance from the central Cairo flashpoints. Carmaker General Motors, which halted operations on Thursday, decided to reopen its production plant in 6th October City, 32 km outside of Cairo, as well as its Cairo office, although it was still monitoring the situation carefully. Chemicals company BASF, which halted production on Thursday, also said its offices in Alexandria and Cairo and a plant in Sadat City 94 km from Cairo were up and running again. Retailer Metro AG (MEOG.DE) on Sunday reopened two cash and carry stores in Cairo and its Egypt headquarters which were closed in previous days. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/79382.aspx
