Monopolies challenged THE PEOPLE'S Assembly finally approved last Monday a new legislation aimed at fighting monopolies. The 27-article anti-trust law seeks to tighten control of monopolistic practices. The draft law defines a monopoly as control, by a single company or consortium of companies, of 25 per cent of the local market, and includes provisions to establish an anti-trust council to regulate mergers and oversee the market. Taking the biscuit SEVEN Egyptian companies paid LE156.3 million for 56.5 per cent of the local biscuit and cereal manufacturer Bisco Misr. The divestment of the state-owned company took place through a public offering. The consortium, which had originally offered to buy 5.86 million shares, eventually acquired all of 6.457 million offered by investors. The Holding Company for Food Industries had retained a 36 per cent stake in Bisco Misr -- currently valued at LE83 million -- following its partial privatisation in 1997. Though relatively small, the complete privatisation of the company appears to be intended to send a message to the market that the government is serious about reviving the privatisation programme. The holding company had earlier stated that offers should be restricted to at least 25 per cent of the company. Bisco Misr has paid a capital of LE92 million and a nominal share value of LE8. The buying consortium includes CIB, Egypt's largest private sector bank. Twenty-year bonds THE MINISTRY of Finance last week announced the floating of a 20-year treasury bond issue, the longest maturity period of a government bond in the local market for more than half a century. Proceeds from the issue will be used to stimulate the stagnant local mortgage industry which has suffered from an absence of long-term finance. Thirteen banks have been authorised to act as primary dealers for the LE1 billion bond issue. The nominal value of each bond stands at LE1. Interest rates will be set following the submission of offers by the 13 primary dealers and could reach between 10 to 11 per cent per annum. Before the current issue the longest maturity period for government bonds had been 10 years. Dollar slide THE EGYPTIAN pound continues to gain ground against the dollar, which last week fell to LE5.86. Improved supply, coupled with low demand for the dollar, boosted the value of the pound, which two weeks ago was traded at LE6.20. Better than expected revenues from tourism and the Suez Canal have contributed to the increased availability of the greenback, as has the activation of the dollar interbank system, designed to enable banks to meet hard currency shortages on a real time basis. This week's statement by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif that the value of the dollar will continue to drop in the coming period further contributed to the downturn. ICT fair CAIRO ICT 2005, the International Telecommunication and Information Technology trade fair, will open its doors on the first of February, reports Eman Youssef. The event brings together key industry figures from across the region. "Several pressing economic issues will be discussed at an economic forum held during the fair," says Osama Kamal, president of Mercury, the event's organisers. Topics to be discussed include ICT applications in different domains, investment, oil and gas, tourism, banking, aviation and transport. The four-day trade fair, held at the Cairo International Conference Centre, will showcase the latest developments in technology, networking, computing and broadcasting. "Major regional organisations are now focussing on how they will operate in increasingly liberalised economies," says Yasser El-Qadi, regional manager of CISCO systems. Cairo ICT, he adds, provides a forum to exchange experiences vis-�-vis this fast moving market. The fair, which will also host the second round of the Arab ICT Youth Forum, is for the first time being promoted by the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce. A second major ICT fair, the Al-Ahram Computer and Information Technology Exhibition (ACITEX), is scheduled next month. AmCham hails reform A US CONGRESS delegation hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt (AmCham) has praised the reform of custom tariffs and taxes and progress made in privatising state-owned companies. The delegation recommended that officials visit Washington in order to publicise the progress made. AmCham President Taher Helmi took the opportunity afforded by the visit to underline Egypt's shift from centralised to market economy, saying that nowadays no sector was excluded from privatisation. An economically strong Egypt, Helmi said, would act to promote peace in the region. He also revealed that the delegation had discussed ways of boosting the number of American tourists coming to Egypt. Currently less than 200,000 visit Egypt each year. Calling for less TELECOM Egypt is reducing the cost of international phone calls to Europe, the US and Canada to 90 piastres per minute. The new rates, which come into force this month, apply to land and mobile lines in the US and Canada and to land lines only in Europe. The initiative, part of the Voice Over the Internet Protocol, allows subscribers to access the lower rates, available between 11pm and 7am local time, by dialing 101 before the number.
