Investors rush in TOTAL paid-in capital injections in Egypt surged in 2004 by 78 per cent. According to a statement released by the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) this week, the total value of business start-ups and expansions over the past year amounted to LE32 billion (about $5.5 billion). The figure was about LE18 billion in 2003. "Investments by Egyptians increased 100 per cent in 2004 from LE12.5 billion to LE25 billion compared to a 26 per cent rise in foreign investments from LE5.4 billion to LE6.3 billion," the statement said. The newly released data revealed that investors started 2,316 new companies in 2004, or 63 per cent higher than business start-ups a year earlier, while business start-ups in the Egyptian free zones grew by 76 per cent in 2004, from 42 to 74 companies. At the same time the year witnessed an increase of 32 per cent in the expansions of existing businesses under the internal investment regulations to 442 companies. The figure rose to 36 per cent for investments in the free zones for an annual growth rate of 44 per cent. GAFI analysed this notable growth in new investments as reflecting an increased confidence on the part of investors towards the local business climate. Final preparations CAIRO hosted a preliminary meeting last Saturday discussing the establishment of the Arab Stock Exchange project in Cairo. The meeting was attended by the Egyptian Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, the chairman of the General Authority for Capital Market, the general secretary of the Union of Arab Capital Markets, the chairman of the General Authority for Capital Market in Muscat, the chairman and deputy of the Cairo-Alexandria Stock Exchange and the representatives of various investment and consulting companies. During the meeting, participants reviewed the goals and the most important features of the project, which should be launched by the second quarter of 2005. The project aims at the establishment of an Arab Stock Exchange through which Arab institutions, both public and private, would be financed. By attracting pioneer companies through the marketing of the new project by investment banks and central depository, clearance and settlement companies to investors and security issuers, the annual value of transactions is expected to be approximately $400 million at first, growing to $2 billion by the fifth year. The size of the market capital is projected to reach $2 billion during the first year and $10 billion during the first five years of the project. TE bonds a hoot TELECOM Egypt's LE2 billion bond issue closed last Sunday 1.91 times oversubscribed. The results of the bond issue were announced on Monday by Akil Beshir, chairman of Telecom Egypt. "We received requests to buy worth LE3.83 billion," he said, adding that the majority of the buyers were institutions. However, individuals also got a share of the pie, gobbling up LE8.83 million worth of bonds. Akil also mentioned that foreign investors showed interest in the bond issue. "This is the first bond issue in Egyptian pounds to be received with such high interest from foreign investors," he said. Described as Egypt's biggest corporate bond issue, the tradable non-convertible bonds have a five-year maturity period. The offering was split into two trenches, the first fixed at an interest rate of 10.95, and the second floating at 0.7 per cent above the Central Bank of Egypt's discount rate. Minister of Information and Communication Technology Tareq Kamel said when the bond issue results were announced that demand for TE bonds reflects the trust of the international community in Egypt's ICT sector, trust in the economy as a whole and trust in the company's management.
