NDB says reduces 2009 net loss to $83 mln Egypt s National Bank for Development (NBD) said on Thursday its net loss for 2009 fell to 458.1 million Egyptian pounds ($83.06 million) from 738.9 mln in 2008. Loans to customers dropped to 2.22 billion pounds as of Dec. 31 from 3.24 billion pounds a year earlier, while customer deposits rose to 9.4 billion pounds from 8.29 billion pounds, it said in an advertisement published in Al-Ahram newspaper. Total assets rose to 10.01 billion from 9.03 billion. -Reuters Flydubai extends reach in Egypt with flights to Assiut Flydubai, Dubai's first low cost airline, has announced the addition of regular flights to Assiut in Upper Egypt, bringing the airline's network to 14 destinations across the region. Assiut is the second destination for flydubai in Egypt, after Alexandria. Priced from LE 825, flights to Assiut, the largest town in Upper Egypt, are three times per week and start on Monday, May 24. "The addition of this new route is in line with our commitment to make travel to key destinations in this region more accessible and more affordable, said Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai. "The Assiut route is an excellent example of the type of destinations flydubai is committed to serving. Assiut currently has very few direct links to the UAE, so by offering this destination we are fulfilling our promise to make travel a little less complex, a little less stressful and a little less expensive. The largest town in southern Egypt, Assiut is known for its agriculture, especially grain and cotton. It is also home to one of the country's largest universities and has much to offer tourists. Steeped in heritage, Assiut was founded in the Pharaonic era and is located 400 km south of Cairo. Through the flydubai model, customers pay only for the services they want to receive. The ticket price includes all taxes and one piece of hand baggage, weighing up to 10kg, per passenger. Passengers have the option to purchase checked-in baggage in advance at LE 90 for the first piece and LE 230 for the second, weighing up to 32kgs, subject to availability. Checked baggage at the airport is also strictly subject to availability. For LE 150 customers can secure extra legroom positions. Food and drink can be purchased on board. Egypt mulls cement tax to fund health projects Egypt s health and finance ministries are studying imposing a 10 percent tax on cement companies to raise funds for public health expenditures, a health ministry officials told Reuters on Friday. He said there is no schedule for a final decision. Egypt is overhauling healthcare and insurance to improve services for its 78 million people, of whom about 20 percent live on less than $1 a day, according to the United Nations. Independent newspaper Al-Shorouk quoted Health Minister Hatem El-Gabaly two weeks ago as saying that the government should raise money for health expenses from polluting industries such as tobacco and cement. The option of taxing cement firms was now under discussion, the newspaper quoted the minister as telling a news conference on Thursday. Egypt s construction industry has grown despite the global economic downturn, even as building projects stalled elsewhere in the region. Cement demand rose 25 percent last year, driven largely by a growing population and a cash-fuelled economy. Egypt plans to issue eight new cement licenses this year, as it aims to boost production capacity to 80 million tons a year by 2015 from 50 million. Last week Egypt s finance minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali told Reuters he is ready to consider a new cigarette tax to boost healthcare spending for low income groups, if parliament sought it One company, Eastern Company, has a monopoly on cigarette production and sales in Egypt. Egypt currently offers limited free medical treatment to low earners. -Reuters RLPC-Qatar s Qtel agreeing $2 bln refinancing -bankers Qatar Telecommunications Co (Qtel) is signing a group of senior banks into a $2 billion loan that will reduce its borrowing costs, banking sources said. As previously reported, Qtel is refinancing a $2 billion forward start loan agreed last September, a growing trend among borrowers keen to replace forward start deals signed last year following a dramatic reduction in pricing for highly rated companies in Europe and, to a lesser extent, the Gulf. The new deal is split between a $1.25 billion, three-year tranche that pays a fully drawn margin of 125 basis points (bps) over LIBOR and a $750 million, five-year tranche that pays a fully drawn margin of 155 bps, the bankers said. That compares with a margin of 250 bps over LIBOR on last year s $2 billion forward start loan and 22.5 bps over LIBOR for the original three-year, $2 billion revolving credit facility agreed in November 2006. Initial mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners on the new loan are BNP Paribas, DBS, Qatar National Bank, Societe Generale and Royal Bank of Scotland, the banker added. General syndication will launch shortly. -Reuters
