SIFEM joins Egyptian distressed assets fund Geneva-based Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (SIFEM) agreed to participate in a $100 million fund to buy distressed small and medium-sized assets in Egypt, the fund s sponsors said on Thursday. Projects in the fund s pipeline include geo-textiles, automotive assembly, cosmetics, logistics, food processing, specialty glass and pharmaceuticals, Egypt s Citadel Capital said. SIFEM will contribute $7.5 million to the fund, which was announced in April. Citadel has committed $10 million, the European Investment Bank $17 million and the International Finance Corporation $17 million. -Reuters Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline still pumping-shippers Oil is still flowing through the Kirkuk pipeline that takes it from northern Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan since its resumption earlier this week after a halt late last month, a shipping source said on Friday. The pumping still goes on, the source said, adding the current pumping rate was about 500,000 barrels per day. About 3 million barrels of crude oil was in storage, with one vessel loading and 2 waiting at anchorage, the source added. Late in November, the pipeline halted for six days due to sabotage. The outage was the second in less than a month. -Reuters Saudi Aramco delays Moneefa start 2 years-website Saudi Arabia has pushed back the tentative completion date of the last giant oilfield on its expansion slate by at least two years, the state oil giant Saudi Aramco said on its website on Friday. Aramco has been developing its 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) heavy crude Moneefa project since 2006 with an anticipated completion date of 2013 after delays this year had already pushed back the start date from September 2011. In an online article dated Dec. 3, Aramco listed Moneefa project details with the line Completion date (projected): 2015. Aramco has previously said Moneefa would compensate for declining output at other fields, and would not boost Saudi production capacity. The giant Moneefa oilfield expansion and neighboring Karan gas scheme were put out to bid when the cost of labor and materials were soaring, and initial estimates for completion rose to $15 billion from $9 billion. Saudi oil output has this year fallen to its lowest in over six years as the kingdom and OPEC curbed output to match slumping demand. Expansion plans and further oilfield development have also become less urgent. -Reuters Saudi to retender largest power, water plant Saudi Arabia will retender its power and water desalination project in Ras Azzour, expected to be the largest in the world, the Saline Water Conversion Corp said on Friday. The plant will generate 2,400 megawatts of electricity and produce 1,025 million cubic meters of desalinated water to supply Saudi capital Riyadh. The tender deadline is March 20 with completion scheduled to take three years. A company executive said in October the cost of the project would be 20-25 percent below initial estimates, partly due to lower material prices. The initial cost was estimated at $6 billion when Japan s Sumitomo Corp was leading a consortium to build and operate the plant. Sumitomo said in May it had put on hold its consortium s plans for the plant. The plant will meet the electricity needs of Saudi s Mining Co (Maaden) and Saudi Electricity Company (SEC). -Reuters Qatar inflation seen low, rates on hold -cbanker Qatar s inflation will keep well below last year s record peak in 2009 despite breakneck economic growth and interest rates should remain stable, Central Bank deputy governor Sheikh Fahad bin Faisal Al-Thani said. Inflation has slowed sharply in the Arab Gulf after oil and property prices plunged. Qatar s economy enjoyed strong growth rates, unlike the rest of the Gulf, as the world s top natural gas exporter kept its oil and gas output intact. Inflationary pressures in Qatar are also expected to be lower as demand pressures are low, Sheikh Fahad said on Thursday in an e-mailed response to Reuters questions. Overall, inflation is expected to be significantly lower than the high levels of 2008, despite some pressure from international oil prices, he said without giving a specific forecast. Qatar is likely to see consumer prices fall by 3.5 percent on average in 2009 from the previous year, a Reuters poll showed last month, after a 15 percent jump in 2008. The country s price index edged down 0.1 percent in October from the previous month on lower food prices and rents. Oil prices have doubled since the start of the year but remain well below record peaks from July, 2008. Sheikh Fahad also echoed gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecasts for fiscal years of 2009 and 2010, mentioned by the country s ruler Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani last month. GDP growth in 2009 and 2010 is expected to be about 9 percent and 16 percent, respectively. This outlook for growth is based on the assumption that gas exports to the US and the euro area would be buoyant, Sheikh Fahad said. In the longer term, the outlook for growth in Qatar is positive, he said. GDP originating from oil, however, is likely to be volatile due to large fluctuations in international crude oil prices. The fiscal year in Qatar, which pegs its currency to the US dollar to anchor inflation, starts in April. The cash-rich state is expected to keep outperforming key players in the world s top oil producing region - Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - in the coming years thanks to massive expansion of its gas facilities. Analysts polled by Reuters expected Qatar, which sits on the world s third-largest natural gas reserves, to grow 8.0 percent and 12.5 percent in calendar years of 2009 and 2010, respectively. Sheikh Fahad also said the central bank was likely to keep key interest rates unchanged for now to maintain a positive differential against the US benchmark rate in order to prevent capital outflows. -Reuters
