Egypt says sticking to 6-7 percent 2008/09 growth target
The Egyptian government said on Thursday it was maintaining its growth target at 6 to 7 percent for the current 2008/9 financial year and would take steps to counteract any fallout from the global financial crisis.
Trade and Industry Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid said the government was looking at ways to offset possible declines in foreign investment and to support exports to countries which could go into recession.
We are well aware that if we continue with the same methods we will not achieve 6 to 7 percent but our target remains and we insist on achieving 6 or 7 percent, he told a news conference after meeting bankers, economists and business people.
The economy grew 7.2 percent in the 2007/8 financial year which ended in June – the highest rate of growth in more than 20 years.
Rachid and ruling party official Gamal Mubarak, the son of President Hosni Mubarak, led the meeting to discuss the effects of the crisis on Egypt, which says its banking system is sound and has no liquidity or credit problems.
But the Egyptian officials said they were worried that recession in the United States and Europe would hit tourism, Egyptian exports, foreign investment and Suez Canal revenue.
Investment is basic and must continue and so there must be a new system.
There may be new incentives which the government will offer, there may be new initiatives which the government comes up with, Rachid said.
Financing will be a very critical point in investment in the coming period because we see that foreign banks have problems, so this is an opportunity for us because our banks have liquidity, he added.
There will definitely be a decline in consumption abroad. So will we increase the export guarantees? Will we be able to give them (exporters) credit lines for more financing from banks? These are all the things we are looking at, he added.
Rachid and Mubarak said it is too early to make any firm predictions about the likely effects of the crisis.
The main immediate effect in Egypt has been the sharp decline in share prices on the stock exchange, as in other countries. But the two officials said current prices did not reflect the underlying value of Egyptian companies. -Reuters
Eye on the market
Orascom Construction Industries said it will buy back 60,900 treasury shares of global depository receipts (GDRs), equivalent to 12,200 common stocks, in addition to buying 30,000 treasury shares of local shares at a maximum price of LE 323.04 and a minimum of LE 309.2. Purchase was carried out in the period from September 29, 2008 to October 3, 2008, reported Al-Alam Al-Youm,
Orascom Hotels and Development sent a release concerning the approval of the Board of Directors regarding purchasing 1 million shares from treasury and obtaining the Capital Markets Authority approval on the purchase within the period from September 17 through October 16, according to reports on the stock exchange website.
Cairo Housing and Development acquired four plots of land in Zahraa El Maadi to establish residential units. Furthermore, the company is planning to buy other four plots, reported Mist News.
Pakistan, Iran back bilateral gas pipeline
Pakistan and Iran on Friday said they were willing to undertake bilaterally a stalled multi-billion-dollar gas pipeline even if India does not join the project.The pipeline, to carry gas from Iran to Pakistan and India, was first mooted in 1994 but has been delayed by repeated disputes over prices and transit fees.
The foreign ministers of Pakistan and Iran met in Islamabad and announced that the $7.5 billion pipeline could start without India s involvement.
Iran is willing to undertake the project bilaterally, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told reporters after talks with Manouchehr Mottaki.
Mottaki endorsed the plan, saying that India may join the project whenever it is ready for this.
Talks on the project to supply gas to India and to Pakistan through the 2,600-km pipeline have been hobbled by tensions between the two rival nuclear powers.
India, which imports more than 70 percent of its energy needs, has been seeking new supplies of oil and gas while ramping up domestic production to sustain its booming economy.
New Delhi has also been under pressure from the United States not to do business with Iran, viewed in Washington as a state sponsor of terrorism that is bent on acquiring nuclear weapons.
Qureshi previously guaranteed Pakistan would provide fool-proof security for the pipeline, which is expected to pass through Pakistan s volatile Baluchistan region. -AFP
Turkish shares slump 7.72 percent
Turkish shares plunged 7.72 percent on Friday, hitting their lowest level in three years, as the deepening world financial crisis further eroded investor confidence.
The national index of the Istanbul stock exchange lost 8.09 percent on opening but managed to claw back some ground to bring its losses in the morning session to 1.849,81 points.
The afternoon session saw equities shed another 532.97 points, bringing its total losses to 2,382,78 points, to close at 28,495.93 points.
Turkish officials argue that the global turmoil will have a limited effect on the economy thanks to far-reaching IMF-backed reforms that stabilized the banking sector after two major financial crises in 1999 and 2001.
Turkey is still a safe port. When you look at Turkey from the United States or Europe, Turkish banks are the most trustworthy, Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan told the NTV news channel Friday.
The government is taking the necessary measures to limit the effect of the turmoil, Unakitan said. – AFP
