IMF/World Bank in Egypt IT IS OFFICIAL. Egypt will host the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) 2012 joint annual meeting. Egyptian ministers of finance and investment, Youssef Boutros Ghali and Mahmoud Mohieldin, signed a memorandum of understanding to this effect Tuesday with Dominique Strauss, IMF managing director and WB President Robert Zoellick. The IMF/WB annual meetings are held for two consecutive years in Washington and on the third year they are hosted by one of the member countries. This year they were hosted by Turkey in Istanbul. These meetings are considered the biggest and most important official gathering of economic decision-makers worldwide. According to Ghali, Egypt's success in being selected to host the annual meetings reflects member states' belief in the potential of the Egyptian economy. Key meetings, such as the G8 and the G24, are often held on the fringes of the annual gathering. More than 16,000 participants will be attending, including key intellectuals, economists, global financial institutions and media personalities. Coming on strong THE EUROPEAN Investment Bank (EIB), the European Union bank, announced its involvement in a number of projects last week. To start with, it will put down some $15 million in a new private equity fund called the MENA Joint Investment Fund created by Citadel Capital, a leading private equity firm based in Cairo. The fund aims to invest in private companies in Egypt and in other countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Companies include those operating in industries such as packaging, waste management and recycling, textiles, agribusiness, and renewable energy. The initial capital for the fund is $150 million and is expected to increase to up to $500 million by 2010. The fund's co-investors include the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the African Development Bank (ADB) and private investors. On a different note, the EIB announced that it is granting Egypt two loans. The first loan, 50 million euros, will go towards supporting a new 200-megawatt wind farm in Gabal Al-Zait on the Red Sea coast. This project is part of an ambitious national programme to further expand power generation from renewable energy. The second loan, of 70 million euros, will be used to improve access to safe drinking water and sanitation for four million people in the Nile Delta, particularly in the governorates of Beheira, Damietta, Gharbiya and Sharqiya. It is essentially a framework loan comprising about 100 sub-investments. Both projects represent a new approach of integrated and enhanced cooperation as the EIB is joining forces with its partners KfW (Kreditanstalt fèr Wiederaufbau), AFD and the EC with the support of the Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF). Funding for both projects comes within the framework of the Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership (FEMIP), the EIB's financial arm for the Mediterranean region. Its remit is to promote development in Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia and the West Bank/Gaza. Its two investment priorities are support for the private sector and the creation of an investment-friendly environment by means of efficient infrastructure and appropriate banking systems. Since 2002, some 8.5 billion euros have been invested through FEMIP in the Mediterranean region. Precious stones EGYPT took part in the 44th International Exhibition of Stone Design and Technology (Marmomacc) that ended this Saturday in Verona, Italy. Marmomacc is considered the most important exhibition in the stone industry, with 1,500 companies from 54 countries participating this year. The exhibition held this year included the marble, granite and industrial instruments sectors. "Showing up for the fourth year in a row, Egypt's representation is the biggest this year, with 32 companies participating," said Adham Nadim, executive director of the Industrial Modernisation Centre (IMC) in a press release. He added that Egyptian participation is one of a series of contributions made by the Egyptian building materials and construction sector to international exhibitions in China, Russia, the US and the Gulf. As Marmomacc's website pointed out, "the competitive advantage of the Egyptian stone industry is based on the availability of raw materials and relatively low cost production, as well as the country's excellent geographical location." Building materials and construction sector exports increased from LE24.5 billion in 2007 to LE24.9 billion in 2008. The sector's main export markets are Italy, Spain and Saudi Arabia. ABC gives to Egypt AL-AHRAM Beverages Company (ABC) announced it would donate LE40 million to the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development (SFSD) to fund health, education, environmental and cultural projects. The projects listed in a memorandum of understanding signed between the two entities should be implemented in four years, according to SFSD Executive Director Gannat El-Samalouty. She added that the donated funds would be redirected to several projects implemented by local non-governmental organisations involved in the health sector. Stemming from their importance to Egyptian society, health projects are the main concern of this initiative. The first is a project to raise public awareness of the risks of Hepatitis C. "Seven million patients infected with Hepatitis C are reported in Egypt. We want to limit the spread of the virus by raising awareness among the public," said Wahid Doss, president of the Egyptian Liver Care Society (ELCS), responsible for the project in collaboration with the Association for the Protection of the Environment (APE). "The choice of SFSD to manage the donation was due to its commitment to enhancing the lives of millions of Egyptians and its contribution to Egyptian society," explained Marc Busain, ABC's CEO. Busain also said that ABC has long contributed to the development of Egyptian society through many projects and initiatives. This initiative Busain considers the broadest, as it serves many sectors alongside that of health. Safe cement AS PART of the ongoing cooperation between the Egyptian Organisation of Standardisation and Quality Control (EOS) and cement producers, the EOS together with Suez Cement Group organised this week the first of a series of seminars aimed at raising consumer safety. The one-day event was intended to raise awareness in the building community on the properties, benefits and applications of blended cement. Focussing on the European Standard Specifications for cement production, the seminar meant to ensure that Egyptian consumers would have access to the latest, most accurate information related to blended cement. "We need to allow the Egyptian consumer to enjoy the new product with confidence and use it in a safe and cost-effective way," said Hany Barakat, chairman of EOS. According to Nabil Francis, marketing and sales director of Suez Cement Group, blended cements are ecologically less harmful and can meet the challenges of any large-scale construction project. Exceptional results of using blended cements have encouraged its usage in major national projects as in Toshka project and Ain Sokhna Port, said Mahmoud Hamza from Hamza Associates.
