Gas pipeline re-attacked FOR THE 16TH time since the 25 January Revolution, the pipeline carrying gas exports from Egypt to Jordan was attacked early on Sunday. No injuries were reported, and fire trucks and security personnel were on the scene to control the resulting fire in the pipeline which is located south of the city of Arish in the Sinai Peninsula. Sherif Sousa, first under-secretary at the Ministry of Petroleum, said that the ministry was taking measures to fix the pipeline, adding that gas supplies to cement factories, power stations and households had not been affected by the incident. The last time the pipeline was blown up was on 22 July 2012, shortly after former president Mohamed Morsi assumed office. More tourists in May THE NUMBER of tourists arriving in Egypt increased during May 2013 to one million, compared to the 800,000 tourist arrivals in May 2012 and marking a 14.6 per cent increase. Hisham Zaazou, the former minister of tourism, told reporters in mid-June that the number of foreigners visiting Egypt since the beginning of the year had reached five million, generating $4 billion in revenue. Zaazou said that tourist numbers were expected to reach 13 million by the year's end. However, he expressed fears that the 30 June protests could push the sector “back to square one.” Tourism has been affected by developments on the political scene in Egypt, with many countries, among them the UK and Germany, warning their nationals off travelling to Egypt except for the South Sinai and Red Sea resorts. Egypt's Chamber of Tourism said it was putting a plan in place to clarify the internal situation in order to calm tourist fears of a lack of security in the country. Record gold production CENTAMIN, Egypt's largest gold producer, achieved record gold production of 93,624 oz. in the second quarter of 2013, as it continued its stage four expansion plan. According to Beltone Financial, the figure was eight per cent higher than the previous quarter and 39 per cent more that what was produced in the same quarter the previous year. The company said the quarter had witnessed continued improvements in mining and processing productivity at Sukari, the gold mine it operates in Egypt's Eastern Desert, around 700km from Cairo. The company has not provided its average realised gold sale price for the quarter. In general, the average gold price estimate for the quarter has been $1419.70 per ounce, 12 per cent lower on an annual basis. Centamin has maintained its 320,000 oz. production target for 2013, which it is on course to achieve comfortably given that year-to-date production has reached 180,640 oz, according to Beltone. Reduced working hours BOTH the Egyptian Stock Exchange and local banks will observe shorter working hours during the holy month of Ramadan. The Egyptian Stock Exchange said that trading hours would be from 10:30am to 1.30pm. Banks will open their doors to customers at 9am and close at 1pm.
