Suez Canal receipts up REVENUES from the Suez Canal rose by 5.3 per cent in August compared to its level in July to reach $472.9 million. Among all of Egypt's foreign currency earners, the Suez Canal performance has been resilient amidst the current unrest. On annual basis, the Canal receipts increased by 8.5 per cent compared to August 2010 figures. In general, the water passages revenues marked a growth of 12 per cent in fiscal year 2010/2011 to reach $ 5.1 billion, despite the social and political tension across the region. Djezzy valued at $7 billion THE FRENCH law firm Shearman & Sterling, commissioned by the Algerian government to value Orascom Telecom's (OT) Algerian mobile company Djezzy in preparation for its nationalisation, put the value of the company at $7 billion. According to Arab Finance, a local brokerage, an official source at OT asserted that the French firm submitted its report to Algeria's government, but denies receiving any warning about such valuation from Algeria. Djezzy has been the centre of a dispute between Orascom, its parent company, and the Algerian government, which said it wants to buy it. Orascom founder Naguib Sawiris said last year an acceptable price for Djezzy was more than $7.8 billion, more than twice what the Algerian government said it was willing to pay. The high valuation, according to the source, rules out the possibility that Algeria would buy the company from OT, pointing out that there are a number of alternatives to settle the dispute with the Algerian government. Another move that highlights the possibility of reconciliation between OT and the Algerian government is the latter's invitation of Djezzy to compete for 3G mobile licence which will be offered in 2012. Property tax reinforced AFTER LESS than three months of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's decision to freeze the controversial property tax law, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces decided earlier this week that the tax will be enforced starting January 2012. Commenting on the decision, Hazem El-Beblawi, finance minister, said that some of the law's provisions might be amended after studying it thoroughly and adding some "final touches to it". The tax stirred a lot of controversy since its law was passed in 2008 for fear that it will add an extra burden on the already impoverished Egyptians, a fear that government officials said are groundless as only homes with market value exceeding LE500 million would be subjected to the tax . Trade deficit THE DEFICIT in the balance of trade increased by 19 per cent registering LE11.2 billion during June 2011 compared to LE9.4 billion in June 2010, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS). Egyptian exports increased in value by 31 per cent, registering LE17.7 billion during June 2011 compared to LE13.5 billion in June 2010. A recent report issued by CAPMAS attributed the rise to an increase in the prices of some products such as crude oil, fertilisers, garments, fresh fruits and oil products. On the other hand, imports also went up by 26.4 per cent registering LE29 billion in June 2011 compared to LE22.9 in June 2010 because of an increase in the prices of some products such as steel, corn, wood and oil products. German parallels She reasserted Germany's support for Egypt saying that "German investments are here to stay." Wohrl said the success of the Egyptian and Tunisian revolutions is not only important for these two countries but for the whole region, especially for the youth who led the revolution. "We should give them something to look forward to; the lack of perspective leads to loss of hope," she warned. EU reallows some Egyptian vegetable imports LAST week, the European Union (EU) decided to lift the ban imposed on some Egyptian fresh vegetables including green beans and peas. But the 27-nation bloc's ban on imports of seeds and sprouts from Egypt will remain in effect until at least 31 October when it will be reviewed, the EU said in a statement. The EU imposed a ban on some Egyptian imports of fresh vegetables in July 2011 after a batch of fenugreek seeds was cited as the most likely cause of E.coli outbreaks. The decision to partially lift the ban follows a food and veterinary office audit in Egypt which revealed no shortcomings in the production sites of leguminous vegetables.
