New mobile numbers INDIVIDUALS wishing to subscribe to any of the existing three mobile operators will be given numbers that look like none currently available on the market. The numbers will be 11 digits in length and will all start with 015. Mobinil subscribers will get a number starting with 0150, Vodafone subscribers with 0151 and Etisalat with 0152. Existing mobile numbers are unaffected. Work on existing numbers is scheduled to begin next year and continue for 14 months. The move is part of a plan by the Egyptian National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority to increase the digits on all mobile numbers to 11, to avoid running out of numbers given the exponential growth of mobile subscribers in Egypt. It is estimated there are over one million new mobile subscriptions per month. The new numbering system will accommodate one billion new numbers and should be enough for the next 30 years. Egypt-Swiss ties consolidated EGYPT and Switzerland are seeking to boost bilateral cooperation on various levels. This week, Jean-Daniel Gerber, Swiss secretary of state for economic affairs, discussed with Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid cooperation in the fields of intellectual property rights, green textiles and standardisation. "Switzerland is one of our target markets for growth. Over the past few months, there have been several official visits as well as visits by the business community in order for both sides to explore areas of cooperation," said Rachid in a press conference that was held Monday, adding that the current visit would serve as an opportunity to discuss the status of the World Trade Organisation Doha Round, in addition to areas of technical cooperation between the countries. In the meantime, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), the embassies of Norway and Switzerland in Cairo, in collaboration with the Swiss Egyptian Business Association (SEBA) organised a business forum Monday. The event presented an opportunity for the business community in these countries and Egypt to share views and experiences on the implementation of the free trade agreement between Egypt and EFTA states signed in 2007. Bilateral trade between Egypt and Switzerland reached $708.2 million in 2009, and $171 million during the period January to March 2010, with Egypt's exports to Switzerland reaching $9.8 million. Corruption renounced THE TRANSPARENCY and Integrity Committee (TTC)convened Sunday for the first time after publishing its third Transparency Report. Discussions were centred on the means to implement six recommendations included in the committee's latest report, and to activate the jurisdictional and institutional framework for combating corruption. The committee further discussed means to better measure corruption, raising the capacity of administrative organisations, and deepening cooperation on the international level to support Egypt's efforts to combat corruption and enhance integrity and transparency. Further, the committee aimed at following up on the Third Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention Against Corruption, held in Doha last year. Due emphasis was also given to the importance of laying out a national strategy to combat corruption that would draw on the various legal, administrative and economic experiences of officials as well as national partners in society. Headed by the State's Minister for Administrative Development, TTC was formed in 2007 with representatives from the political parties, civil society, academia and the media. Its main task is to foster national effort to combat corruption and promote principles of integrity and transparency. Business winners TWO Egyptian teams were among the top four winners of the third Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Arab Business Plan Competition. The Little Engineer team from Lebanon claimed the $50,000 first prize, while BioBusiness, Egypt, was the first runner up and received $15,000. EG-Bioinformatics, Egypt, and Arabic Coach from Yemen received $5,000 each and secured the third and fourth places. "Being a winner in this competition gives me the motive to start implementing my business plan," says EG-Bioinformatics Chairman Mustafa Ghanem. He believes that he can confidently present his plan to any investor, because it is one of the top four business plans of the entire Arab world and "success is guaranteed". The four winners were among nine finalists who made it to the final round and represented Egypt, Lebanon, Yemen, Palestine, and United Arab Emirates. The competition started in October 2009 and attracted 1,852 applicants from 16 Arab countries. "About 40 per cent of the teams were from Egypt making it the first in the number of participants," says Hala Fadel, chair of the MIT Enterprise Forum of the Pan Arab region. The MIT Arab Business Plan Competition is the first of its kind in the Arab world and is designed to encourage all entrepreneurs in the region to start their own company. This year's projects were divided among the sectors of energy, engineering, healthcare, Internet-based solutions, software and telecommunication. The MIT Arab Business Plan Competition is hosted annually by the MIT Enterprise Forum of the Arab Region in partnership with the Saudi-based Abdel-Latif Jameel (ALJ) Company. Zones for investment THE INTERNATIONAL Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and the Egyptian government are partnering to raise awareness about the benefits of establishing private sector zones that will increase the supply of usable land, create jobs, and boost economic activity, according to a statement issued by the IFC. The IFC, with Egypt's Ministry of Investment, and Ministry of Trade and Industry, held a conference entitled "Zones in Egypt: Engines for accelerated growth", which aimed at raising awareness among private sector investors and government officials about different types of zones available for investment in Egypt, and which enjoy incentives such as simple regulatory processes. "The IFC is working with the Egyptian government to address the supply of critically needed developed land with basic services, including power, water, transport and Internet links for individual investors," said Jesper Kjaer, IFC senior manager for the Middle East and North Africa. "This will also help Egypt create more than 100,000 additional jobs in the next three years," he added. Egypt estimates that private sector investment in zones could reach $13 billion in the next four years, with the private sector managing the majority of the country's new zones. The IFC is also supporting efforts by Egypt's government to implement transparent and integrated investment zone regulations, allowing private developers to establish and operate industrial and non-industrial zones. Egypt ranks among the top 10 business environment reformers worldwide in the latest World Bank and IFC Doing Business Report. Egypt climbed from 116th in 2009 to 106th out of 183 countries in the 2010 report. Funding infrastructure IN AN IMPORTANT move, a group of financial institutions have launched InfraMed Infrastructure, the first financing facility of the Union for the Mediterranean. The institutions include Caisse des Dépôts (CDC), a French holding company that makes long-term investments, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), an Italian joint-stock company under public control, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the long-term lending bank of the European Union, Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion (CDG), a Moroccan public financial institution, and EFG Hermes, the premier investment bank in the Middle East. InfraMed will be the largest fund dedicated to investment in infrastructure in the Mediterranean region. With initial commitments of 385 million Euros, the new fund is targeting commitments of one billion Euros. InfraMed will be established under French law and will provide funding to sustainable urban, energy and transport infrastructure projects on the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean. The fund will invest primarily in Greenfield projects, compliant with minimum requirements of environmental protection, social impact, transparency and procurement. The fund will hold investments over a longer term than traditional private equity infrastructure funds. A unique characteristic of InfraMed is that it will rely on a partnership with Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion (Morocco) and EFG Hermes (Egypt), and with local infrastructure investment funds to be raised by these two institutions in their respective countries. Two newly created funds will invest in infrastructure projects alongside InfraMed that will allocate a minimum of 20 per cent of its investments to each Egypt and Morocco. Franco Bassanini, president of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (Italy), was appointed as president of the Investors Committee, Augustin de Romanet, with CEO of Caisse des Dépôts (France), and Anass Houir Alami, CEO of Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion (Morocco), as vice-presidents. Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid was appointed as president of the Strategic Committee that will be responsible for providing advice and orientation on the overall development of the fund's activities.
