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News in brief
(Daily News Egypt Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Egypt fiscal Q1 BoP surplus rises to $2.05 bln, says central bank
Egypt's balance of payments (BoP) surplus rose to $2.05 billion in the first quarter of this fiscal year from $459 billion a year ago, the central bank said in a statement received by Reuters on Wednesday.
An allocation of special drawing rights of about $1.2 billion from the International Monetary Fund boosted the figure for the quarter ending Sept. 30.
Egypt's economy was hurt by a decline in Suez Canal revenue, foreign investment and tourism receipts after the global financial crisis began last year. –Reuters
Vivendi eyeing Orascom Telecom's Algerian unit: report
Vivendi, which is keen to expand in emerging markets, could be eyeing the Algerian subsidiary of Egypt's Orascom Telecom, French daily La Tribune reports on Friday.
A member of Vivendi's board of directors, Mehdi Dazi, was in Algiers last Saturday to meet with local businessmen, notably Issad Rebrab, the head of Algerian group Cevital, which has a 3 percent stake in Orascom Telecom Algeria, the paper said.
Cevital could join forces with Vivendi to buy the unit, which serves more than 14 million mobile telephone customers in Algeria and had revenue of over $2 billion last year, it said.
Vivendi could not be immediately reached for comment.
Earlier this month, Vivendi gained control of GVT, the Brazilian broadband operator, in a deal worth €2.8 billion ($4.23 billion).
Vivendi, which already has a majority stake in Maroc Telecom, has said it wants to expand in emerging markets given its mature portfolio which includes France's second-biggest mobile phone operator SFR. –Reuters
Orascom chairman eyes Bouygues Telecom, says report
Egypt's Orascom Telecom would be interested in buying French telecom group Bouygues Telecom if parent Bouygues wanted to sell, but there are currently no discussions, Orascom's chairman told a paper.
"We would be interested if they had the intention to sell," Naguib Sawiris said in an interview with French business paper La Tribune.
Asked if a merger would make sense with Bouygues Telecom, the chairman said: "Why not? It would reinforce our presence in the Mediterranean, improve our roaming possibilities, there would be many synergies."
As well as its domestic market, Orascom also operates in Algeria, Italy and Greece.
He added that he ruled out a merger with a big telecom operator such as AT&T, Vodafone or Telefonica, but could see 'billions of dollars' of possible synergies with "smaller players" in emerging countries or Europe.
Orascom Telecom, which owns shares in Egyptian telecom operator Mobinil coveted by its other shareholder France Telecom , is not ready to sell them, Sawiris said, but he would consider it if the price offered by the telecom giant was fair.
Orascom, which was told earlier this month by Algerian tax authorities that it owes $596.6 million in outstanding tax penalties, has no intention of leaving Algeria or selling its operator there to Vivendi, Sawiris said. –Reuters
Ezz Steel 9M net profit down 98 pct
Ezz Steel said on Tuesday its 2009 nine-month net profit tumbled 98 percent to LE 29 million ($5.32 million).
Egypt's largest steel producer reported net profit of LE 1.5 billion in the same period last year.
The figure implies a third quarter loss of LE 72 million based on calculations from its previously reported first half profit of LE 101 million. –Reuters
Beach Petroleum says potential for Egypt oil output in 2010
Beach Petroleum Ltd. said Wednesday it could start producing oil in Egypt in the first half of 2010 after it experienced promising flow rates from a development well in the Gulf of Suez.
Beach said the NS377-3 oil field development well in the North Shadwan block flowed at rates of 1,400 barrels of oil per day, which it said points to likely production of 1,500 to 2,000 bopd.
"The North Shadwan project is on target to achieve first production by the June quarter of 2010," Chief Executive Officer Hector Gordon said in a statement.
Beach holds 20 percent in the block along with operator BP PLC (BP).–Dow Jones
(c) 2009 Daily NewsEgypt Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company
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