GB Auto approves issuing $183 mln bonds Egypt s GB Auto shareholders have approved issuing 5-year bonds worth LE 1 billion ($183 million) to fund new service centers in Egypt and regional expansion. GB Auto, Egypt s biggest listed automobile assembler, had said it aimed to increase its share of Egypt s passenger car market to around 30 percent from 27 percent now. The firm operates six after-sales service centers in Egypt and plans to have 25 by the end of 2012, Investor Relations Director Bassem El-Shawy told Reuters on Thursday. At least LE 600 million will be earmarked to fund new after-sales service centers in Egypt, said Shawy. The remaining 400 million could be allocated for future expansions or acquisitions. GB Auto manufactures, assembles, imports and distributes vehicles for Hyundai, Volvo, Mitsubishi and Bajaj. It said on Jan. 14 it had struck an exclusive agreement to import and sell Mazda-branded vehicles in Egypt. Tie-ups between automakers are being advanced as a survival strategy for the industry to cope with fragile demand and overcapacity during the global economic downturn. The firm posted a 64 percent drop in net income to LE 63.9 million ($11.7 million) for the third quarter of 2009 but said it saw an upturn in the car market. GB Auto said in October it would form a subsidiary to help buyers purchase Bajaj vehicles on credit, a move that would help it expand sales in lower income groups. -Reuters Oil hovers below $74 as traders eye dollar, stocks Oil prices rose slightly Friday, helped by a slight pullback by the US dollar and optimism in European stock markets, but remained near a six-week low under $74. By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for March delivery was up 14 cents to $73.78 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 3 cents to settle at $73.64 on Thursday, the lowest since Dec. 14 when crude dropped to $73.46. Oil has skidded about 12 percent since reaching $84 a barrel earlier this month as investors eye a stronger dollar and slumping equities. Traders often buy commodities such as oil as a hedge against inflation and a weaker dollar and sell them when the US currency rises. On Friday, however, the dollar lost some ground to the main European currencies. The euro bought $1.3962, up from Thursday s low of $1.3938 - the euro s weakest level since July 2009 - while the British pound rose to $1.6151 from $1.6127. Despite the slight rise on Friday, oil prices still looked to be heading toward ending their third straight week lower, with a skeptical outlook seen prevailing. A day of rising prices does not mean that perception is changing significantly, said Mike Fitzpatrick, vice president of energy at broker MF Global in New York. A fall of $10 in a little over two weeks is probably just too tempting to resist. Investors are also looking at US crude demand, which has so far not rebounded strongly from a slide last year. A clear turning point in the US demand cycle is yet to be reached, still waiting for distillate demand to kick in, Barclays Capital said in a report. In other Nymex trading in February contracts, heating oil was up 0.27 cent at $1.9218 a gallon and gasoline rose 0.66 cent to $1.9240 a gallon. The March contract for natural gas gained 9.6 cents to $5.234 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, Brent crude for March delivery was up 18 cents to $72.31 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.-AP Etisalat defers planned 1.8 billion dirham bond Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) will postpone a planned 1.8 billion dirham bond issue because it has sufficient cash to fund expansion, its chairman said. Maybe we will issue the bond at a later stage, but we still haven t decided when, Mohamed Omran, chairman of the Gulf Arab region s second-largest telecom firm, said on Thursday. Asked when Etisalat planned to make a payment of $800 million to Pakistan for a stake in Pakistan Telecommunication Co (PTCL), Omran said: We have the money and will only make the payment once all the land is transferred. In 2006, Etisalat signed an agreement to buy a 26 percent stake in PTCL for $2.6 billon. So far, only $1.4 billion has been paid because of problems linked with a transfer of 3,000 real estate units. Under the contract, the government agreed to transfer the properties before Etisalat made the full payment. This week, Pakistan said it expected Etisalat to make the payment by the end of March, according to Pakistan s Minister of Privatisation Waqar Ahmed Khan. If the minister is confident that this will happen in March then we will pay in March, said Omran. Etisalat has faced increased competition in its home market after its monopoly was broken in 2007 by Dubai-based du. Etisalat, operating in 18 countries, including Egypt and India, is one of a number of Gulf Arab telecom operators to have expanded overseas after losing their monopoly at home. -Reuters Jordan bank loans down 1.5 pct in 2009 Private sector loans extended by Jordanian banks fell 1.5 percent during 2009 as lending shrunk with banks risk averse, central bank data showed on Thursday. Outstanding private sector loans that include retail and business borrowing by the country s 23 commercial banks at end of Dec stood at 11.686 billion dinars ($16.48 bln) compared to 11.869 billion dinars at the start of 2009. Private sector loans rose 14.2 percent in 2008 and 15.7 percent in 2007, according to Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) data obtained by Reuters. Bankers say commercial banks have become more cautious since last year about extending new loans as the global downturn s impact on the economy slows growth and domestic consumption. The country had previously seen years of rapid credit expansion where loan growth in its well-capitalized banks outpaced that of deposits. -Reuters
