As easy as ABC THE ARAB Business Council (ABC) of the World Economic Forum held its third annual meeting earlier this month in Abu Dhabi. The meeting focussed on the role of business in helping the Arab region to integrate on an intra-region basis and successfully into the global economy. Under the title, "The Path Forward: the Role of Business", the meeting also addressed the necessity of creating a policy environment that will enable and encourage competitive economic performance, greater social and gender equity, and stronger flows of domestic, intra-regional and foreign investment. It further touched upon the importance of building intellectual capital. ABC was established three years ago, according to Shafiq Gabr, chairman of the Arab Business Council, as the voice for Arab business leaders. "Spurred by a strong belief in our region's potential and capabilities, our goal was to have it [ABC] as a tool to make our region more competitive on all fronts," he remarked. However, Gabr highlighted the fact that, despite efforts exerted by ABC thus far, many challenges still lie ahead. Foremost among those, he said, is the conflict in the region. An ABC survey, conducted in partnership with the Zogby Institute, has found that the conflicts plaguing the region are taking a deeply negative toll on the psyche of the Arab public. "Oil revenues have risen in Gulf states and political and economic reform is underway in several countries, but the plight of the Palestinians, the destruction in Lebanon, the fear of widening sectarian strife throughout the region and the implosion of Iraq, combine to depress confidence," said the final communiqué of the ABC meeting. The report added that, the "ability to drive forward the economic and social progress that has defined the region in the past three years will be greatly strengthened if a comprehensive peace agreement and a well-structured regional security pact can be crafted by our governments." ABC efforts in promoting regional competitiveness have so far resulted in the creation of National Competitiveness Councils (NCC) in Egypt, Kuwait and Bahrain. Another NCC is in the making in Syria. Together with the World Economic Forum Competitiveness Team, ABC is also developing guidelines that will help countries develop their NCCs, as well as establish a level of harmonisation that will allow close cooperation in the future. National control retained THE MARKET share of banks owned by Arab and foreign entities in Egypt does not exceed 28 per cent with regards to the value of assets under management, according to a statement issued by the Central Bank of Egypt. The statement noted that the market share of Egyptian banks, whether 100 per cent owned by the government, joint ventures or wholly private banks, is 71.9 per cent in October compared to 80.6 per cent in June 2004. The decline is due to the overhaul of the sector that started in late 2004 and included the government selling its stakes in joint venture banks, mergers and the sale of many local banks to foreign investors. The Italian Sao Paolo acquisition of 80 per cent of Bank of Alexandria two months ago is the latest and biggest of these sales. The statement came out to clarify recent speculations about the stake foreigners control in the sector. Luxury real estate THE UAE based Damac Properties, a private-sector luxury property developer, is investing in Egypt's Red Sea area. The company said it is developing the 320 million square feet in Gamsha Bay and did not elaborate on the value of investments in the project. Gamsha Bay is supposed to be the region's largest township, located at the north of Hurghada, with a wide array of housing options, entertainment venues and recreational amenities, including a huge theme park. It will be divided into nine zones: Gamsha Marina, Marina Park, Coral Golf Course, Sea View Crescent, Creek Retreat, Gamsha Bay, Peninsula Luxury Villas, Downtown Gamsha and Extreme Sports World Theme Park. The township will be built in five phases over 10 years, with the first phase completed within the next five years. New highs A SIZEABLE increase has been recorded in Egyptian exports to both the United States and France in the first nine months of 2006. According to a report issued by the ministry of trade and industry, Egypt now ranks 60th among countries exporting to the US, jumping three places with respect to the same period last year. Egyptian exports to the US reached a record $1 billion worth of products compared to $300 million for the same time frame last year. The Egyptian ministry of trade and industry also reports a significant increase in trade with France reaching 775.7 million euros from January to September of this year, as opposed to 662.1 million euros recorded in the same time frame last year. The report pointed out that Egyptian exports of iron and steel to the US rose by 173.9 per cent and exports of ready-to-wear clothing went up by 59.2 per cent. The exports of carpets and other floor coverings increased by 22.1 per cent and aluminium went up by 19.5 per cent. Minister of trade and industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid says the increase in non-petroleum exports to the American market confirms Egypt's ability to compete successfully in world markets with Egyptian-made products. He particularly highlighted areas of the clothing industry, where standards of quality are comparable to the best in the world. Rachid confirmed the government's continued support to exporters through the ministry's aid programmes. These reports also come after Rachid's November trip to France to see how the two countries can improve trade relations. The minister discussed with the French trade minister how Egypt could benefit from France's experience in industrial training and development, as well as France's refined reputation in standards and quality development. ICT fair UNDER the slogan, "The shape of things to be", CAIRO ICT 2007, the Eleventh International Telecommunication and Information Technology trade fair and forum for the Arab and North African region, will open its doors on 4 February. The event, which will be inaugurated by Tareq Kamel, minister of communication and information technology, brings together key industry figures from across the region. "Several pressing economic issues will be discussed at an economic forum held during the fair," stated Osama Kamal, president of Mercury, the event's organiser. Topics to be discussed include ICT applications in different domains, investment, oil and gas, tourism, banking, aviation and transport. More than 25,000 professionals are expected to see this year's technology advances, which will be displayed by 240 companies, according to Kamal. The four-day trade fair, held at the Cairo International Conference Centre, will showcase the latest developments in technology, networking, computing and broadcasting. Last year event saw major announcements such as the introduction of two new companies acting as international gateways competing with the incumbent Telecom Egypt. The battle between 11 contenders for the third mobile operator was also waged at Cairo ICT, the prelude to a final battle and conclusion of the matter in favour of a consortium led by Etisalat of the UAE. In addition, the 10th anniversary celebration was marked with the honouring of individuals and corporations alike. The fair, which will also host the fourth round of the Arab ICT Youth Forum, will be promoted by the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Google Toolbar goes native Nader Habib experiences Arabic style web searching with the latest version of Google Toolbar Google Inc, provider of the world's most popular search engine, announced last week that they would launch a new version of their Google Toolbar in Arabic. This new version of Google Toolbar is customisable, with new features enabling users to personalise their search experience and browse their favourite content more efficiently. Google Toolbar was designed to make the Internet easier to use and help people find the information they are looking for as quickly and easily as possible. With the Google Toolbar, users can access Google search capabilities from any web site, without first having to visit the Google homepage. Google Toolbar now offers online bookmarks, enhanced search features, and new sharing capabilities, all in Arabic. The new version of Google Toolbar enables users to create, label and manage bookmarks for their favourite sites with a single click. Bookmarks are now saved to a user's Google Account making them accessible from any computer. For example, if a user bookmarks an interesting news article at work that they want to read later, they can now easily access it from their home computer. Additional product enhancements include an expanded search functionality that offers users instant search query suggestions. In addition, enhanced sharing capabilities allow users to easily send and share web page content via Gmail by selecting the section of page they want to share and clicking the new "send to" button. Google Toolbar 4 for Internet Explorer is now offered globally in more than 40 languages. It is a free downloadable application that requires Windows 2000/XP and Internet Explorer 6.0+ (including IE7). The toolbar can be downloaded from http://toolbar.google.com Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford PhD students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is an important economic and technological player in all major global markets. Google's targeted advertising programme provides businesses of all sizes with new business and measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia.
