Land auctions TWO major auctions were conducted Saturday and Sunday to sell large stretches of land in New Cairo, the 6th of October and Al-Sheikh Zayed cities. The total revenues from both actions amounted to LE17.6 billion. In the first auction, three pieces of land consisting of 3,940 feddans in New Cairo City were sold to three companies. The first parcel of 460 feddans was sold to Egypt's Ru'ya Tourism and Real Estate Investment Company for a total of LE2.5 billion. The second parcel of 1,500 feddans was awarded to UAE's Damac Properties for a total of LE4.7 billion, while the remaining 1,980 feddans were bought by Qatar's Barwa Real Estate company for LE6.1 billion. The second auction for three land parcels consisting of 1,000 feddans contributed some LE4.3 billion to the government's coffers. The winners were Egyptian, Libyan and Saudi companies. Egyptian-Libyan Lakeside Real Estate Investment was awarded 80 feddans in New Cairo for a total of LE1.3 billion, while the Saudi Al-Hokir company won 210 feddans in the 6th of October City for LE1.1 billion, and finally 710 feddans in Al-Sheikh Zayed City were sold at a value of LE1.9 billion to Prince Mishael Ibn Abdul-Aziz Company. LE4,005 per metre was an unheard of price in the New Cairo City. According to Ahmed El-Maghrabi, minister of housing, public utilities and urban development, the bulk of the revenues from both auctions will be directed to develop the infrastructure in new cities and to connect them by highway with the capital. CBE maintains interest rates THE OVERNIGHT deposit and lending rates were maintained at 8.75 per cent and 10.75 per cent respectively, for the fifth month in a row. The Central Bank of Egypt's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) attributed the decision to the fact that the inflation rate, the main consideration in any move to raise rates, has peaked and started to decline. MPC cited a retreat in the consumer inflation index to 11.7 per cent in April, from 12.8 per cent in March. This was the first decline in the index in nine months. The retreat happened as the shock of the increase in food prices due to the outbreak of the Avian Flu in Egypt and energy price increases started to fade. However, the committee stressed that it is closely watching the increase in demand resulting from the spiralling growth rate as it might contribute to an increased inflation rate. The CBE had recently come under pressure from the local commercial banks which are demanding an increase in the CBE's rates. The banks had to lower their individual interest rates on deposits so as to limit excess liquidity, after the interest rates on treasury bills decreased to less than seven per cent. Investments in treasury bills were one of the main sources of revenue for banks. The last time the MPC increased the rates was in December, when it increased both rates by 0.25 per cent.
