News in brief

Oriental Weavers delays work on new complex

Oriental Weavers, the world's biggest machine-woven carpet producer, said on Sunday it would delay construction work for an industrial complex from mid-2009 to 2010 because of the global financial crisis.

Oriental Weavers said in March the first phase of the LE 1.3 billion ($235.5 million) complex would produce rugs with an initial investment cost of LE 495 million.

"In light of the decline recently in the world financial markets, the management of the company saw fit to move construction work planned for mid-2009 to the beginning of 2010," the company said in a statement to the stock exchange.

The company, however, has not seen any decline in its growth rate, productivity or sales, the statement said.

In November, Oriental Weavers reported a 48 percent increase in net profit after minority interest during the third quarter to 86 million pounds. It maintained its full-year profit growth target of between 10 to 12 percent.

Shares in the company were trading 0.71 percent up at LE 22.80 by 0953 GMT on Sunday. –Reuters

Steel companies agree to stabilize price at LE 3800 a ton

A state of calm is prevailing in the steel market in anticipation of the prices to be stabilized or slightly reduced in January.

The steel companies have implicitly agreed to stabilize the ex-factory price at LE 3800 per ton, even if Ezz group reduced its price, so as to maintain market stability in the face of the rising billet prices from $ 380 to $ 435 per ton.

Sources expected Ezz Group to reduce its price by LE 150 per ton like last month. They said the price in Cairo and Alexandria is LE 4200 per ton, and LE 4300 in the provinces and in Upper Egypt. Meanwhile, Misr Aluminum reduced its price in January by $525 per ton, bringing the price to $1750 rather than $2275 last month.

In a related context, there is relative calm in the cement market due to low demand and the poor weather conditions, which led to the suspension of transport. Sources said that the drop in demand forced traders to sell at prices lower than the ex-factory price. –Tegara Net

China says investment in Egypt ‘mutually beneficial’

Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang said on Friday that investment from Chinese enterprises in Egypt is mutually beneficial and will create a win-win situation, according to a press release issued on Sunday.

Li was attending the inauguration ceremony of an auxiliary project of Cairo International Conference Center, together with Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid.

Li said about 600 Chinese companies currently have invested in Egypt which not only bring friendship, funds and technology to support Egypt's economic construction, but promote China's economic growth as well.

He explained that rapid increase in trade volume between Egypt and China is proof that markets in developing countries have potential in the midst of the global financial crisis.

Rachid said that the Egyptian government will facilitate the pragmatic cooperation between Egyptian and Chinese companies. The Egyptian minister said that he hope entrepreneurs in both countries could seize the opportunity to push bilateral trade cooperation to a new high with the advantages of both sides.

Around 500 representatives from government and companies of China and Egypt as well as those in charge of the project attended Friday's ceremony.

According to Chinese statistics, trade volume between China and Egypt reached more than 5.3 billion U.S. dollars as of October this year, a 44-percent increase compared with the same period of last year.

Li also called on China and Egypt to combine their advantages to explore international market.

Li made the remarks in his speech at a business forum Thursday in the Egyptian capital, amid his four-day official visit to the country.

He said Egypt has the advantage of a good geographic location, crossing Asia and Africa and nearing the Europe, while China is advantageous with high-level technologies and relatively complete services.

He said the Suez cooperation zone is a major and important project for China-Egypt economic and trade cooperation, and it is of strategic significance to do a good job in constructing the zone and to make full use of the zone. He added that China is ready to closely coordinate with the Egyptian side to establish working mechanism on promoting the project.

He also called on both sides to learn from each other's experiences in reform and development. – Xinhua

Finance Ministry establishes independent entity to run pension funds

The new insurance law includes the establishment of a national authority for social insurance, which is independent from the State Treasury and the Investment Bank, said Adviser to the Minister of Finance for insurance and pensions Mohamed Ahmed.

He explained that such a step aims to protect pensioners' social and health rights. During a seminar at Cairo University earlier this week, Ahmed likened the current Insurance Act to torn clothes that could not be patched up. He stressed that insurance companies did not intervene in the new system. "I will be proud to introduce such a law," he added.

There will be an unemployment insurance system for the first time, Ahmed said, adding that the project gives an insured person who suffers from a work injury the right to get compensation during the period in which he can not work.

The ministry will refer the new law to the People's Assembly and the Shoura Council [Egypt's lower and upper chambers of Parliament respectively] immediately after the State's Council drafts it constitutionally, he said. The ministry has been preparing the new bill for more than 18 months, has appointed the best graduates of Cairo University's Faculty of Commerce and dispatched them to London to be trained on how to manage the new system, he said. Some attendees, though, criticized the Ministry of Finance's supervision of insurance and pensions. – Tegara Net