World rice output seen up 1.8 pct in 2008 Reuters reported that world rice production is set to increase by 1.8 percent this year as government incentives and high prices spur output in Asia and Africa, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Wednesday. Export restrictions in place in major producing countries like China, India, Egypt and Vietnam will however contribute to a fall in the rice trade where volumes will drop 1.1 million tons to 29.9 million tons, FAO said. The international rice market is currently facing a particularly difficult situation with demand outstripping supply and substantial price increases, said FAO Senior Economist Concepcion Calpe. Higher rice production in 2008 could reduce the pressure, but short-term volatility will probably continue, given the very limited supplies available from stocks. This implies that the market may react very strongly to any good or bad news about crops or policies. International rice prices have increased by about 20 percent since the start of the year, FAO said. Its forecasts are based on the assumption that weather conditions will be normal. While output will increase in most of Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe, it will decline in Japan where producer prices fell last year, in Australia which is suffering from low water availability and in the United States where there is mounting competition from more profitable crops, FAO said. AlWatany to double branches within 2 years Reuters reported that the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) said on Wednesday its Egyptian subsidiary AlWatany Bank plans to double the number of its branches in the next two years to seize growth opportunities in the local market. We aim to double our branches within the next two years and introduce more advanced banking products and services into the market, the NBK s CEO, Ibrahim Dabdoub, told a news conference in Cairo. AlWatany Bank, which was founded in 1980, says it has a network of 26 branches in Cairo and other cities in Egypt. We target the banking retail sector but we will be also expanding in corporate banking and will keep our Islamic financial services, said Yasser Ismail Hassan, the managing director of AlWatany. Afterwards we may expand more, depending on the market conditions, Hassan added. NBK, Kuwait s largest bank, bought 51 percent of AlWatany Bank for $522 million in August. The bank currently holds 98 percent of its shares. The Egyptian bank made a net profit of LE 243.6 million ($44.7 million) in 2007, a 157 percent jump on its 2006 profit. There is a radical change in economic policies in Egypt creating great growth and investment opportunities in all the sectors, Dabdoub said. We in the Gulf should seize this opportunity, he added. -Agencies News on the market The tender offer announced earlier last week by Orascom Development Holding AG (ODH) for up to 100 percent of the outstanding shares of Orascom Hotels and Development (OHD) has been approved by the CMA and was published Thursday. According to Beltone Financial, the tender offer, which will be valid for 20 working days starting Sunday April 6 until the end of the trading session of May 5, provides OHD shareholders with two options: buying their shares at a cash price of LE 78.49 per share or swapping their shares to ODH, at a swap ratio of 10 OHD shares to one ODH share. After the completion of the tender offer, ODH will be listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange and the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchanges. Also, MobiNil announced it will distribute a LE 4.34 cash dividend per share to its investors on April 13. BNP Paribas Egypt 2007 net profit surges 193 pct BNP Paribas Le Caire Bank said on Thursday its net profit in 2007 rose 192.8 percent to LE 93.4 million ($17.15 million). Net profit in 2006 was LE 31.9 million, the bank said. Profit per share in 2007 was equivalent to LE 14.89 compared to LE 6.38 in the previous year. The total value of the bank s assets was LE 19.72 billion at the end of December 2007, up from LE 9.63 billion by the end of December 2006. The bank, which was established in 1975 as a subsidiary of the Paris-based BNP Paribas, has a market capitalization of LE 1.7 billion, according to the Egyptian stock exchange. -Agencies
