Egypt's new zone A NEW industrial zone is being established on the Cairo-Ismailia Desert Road under the name Al-Tajamouat, inclusive of over one million square metres. Established by Al-Tajamouat, a Jordanian real estate development company, the industrial zone will be developed in three phases over the coming seven years. It will offer industrial and service space for sale or rental. Services include a housing area for employees as well as industrial catering. Al-Tajamouat has experience developing similar industrial zones in Jordan. According to Jansat Khansa, executive project director of Al-Tajamouat Egypt, speaking during a press conference, the facilities offered will enable investors to take easier investment decisions, knowing that they will have the space available to set and expand businesses. Space in the new industrial zone will be marketed locally and internationally. Watch your identity DO NOT throw your bank statements in the garbage -- better to shred them. And be careful whom you give your personal information to on the Internet. This is expert advice on avoiding identity theft and consumer fraud. These warnings were repeated this week during a conference organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Cairo's Trade-Related Assistance Centre and the Egyptian Consumer Protection Agency (CPA). Under the name of "Identity Theft, Consumer And Brand Fraud: You Are Targeted," the conference is part of an effort to boost awareness of identity and consumer fraud. Said El-Alfi, chairman of the CPA, told the conference that identity theft is on the rise, reaching 10 million victims in the US in 2008 -- a two per cent increase over 2007. He said that Internet users should be suspicious about e-mails asking for personal information. The conference also tackled the issue of counterfeiting. Todd Reves of the US Patent and Trademark Office of the US Department of Commerce said that those who believe that intellectual property right theft is a victimless crime should take a look at the rate of African deaths caused by the consumption of counterfeit anti-Malaria pills and at deaths in Russia caused by counterfeit vodka. He showed how intellectual property right theft brings 800 per cent profit, much higher than drugs. In addition, it involves little investment and is a low-risk crime compared to drug trafficking. Intellectual property right theft represents approximately seven per cent of world trade, according to Reves. Intellectual property right theft does not only mean lost revenues to the wealthy companies, but also lost tax revenues to governments and could be hazardous to public health and safety when it involves products such as pharmaceuticals or electrical appliances. Not over yet Youssef Boutros Ghali, minister of finance and head of the Steering Committee of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has expressed concern over the waning sense of urgency for implementing IMF reforms as the global economy is showing signs of improvement. "I would not like to see us get past this crisis without having invested in fundamental change to keep it from starting again," Ghali told Reuters during a meeting of G8 finance ministers held in Italy on 12-13 June. Ghali underlined that African nations still need more help from international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF in order to be able to stimulate their economies. "They are not getting enough and those that are getting it are not getting it fast enough," he said. On the national level, Egypt's economic growth may reach a 4.5 per cent annual rate during the second quarter of the year, "But it is still too early to say the economy has turned a corner," said Ghali. Growth rates have already jumped from 4.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008 to 4.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2009. Foreign direct investment is expected to stabilise after a sharp drop during the past three months while the budget deficit may rise to 8.5 per cent in 2009-10 compared to 6.8 per cent in 2008-09. The current financial crunch has stimulated an increase in the poverty rate, which in Egypt has risen to 18.5 per cent compared to 15.5-16 per cent before the crisis hit. "Egypt has intensified poverty reduction schemes since the crisis and increased funding available for the poor at the expense of other programmes," said Ghali.
