KAMCO Launches a $173.8m
North African Company
KIPCO Asset Management Company (KAMCO) launched a new $173.8m company, North Africa Holdings (NAH), to exploit investment opportunities in North Africa. KAMCO has already placed 500 million shares of NAH with a number of local and regional investors to cover the NAH’s initial paid-up capital. NAH will target investment opportunities in five countries: Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt and Libya. It is worth noting that KIPCO (Kuwait Projects Company), which owns a capital of $363m, has significantly contributed to the paid capital of the North African Company.
Amlak Finance Posts 75% Growth in Q3-06 Profits
Dubai-based Amlak Finance, the mortgage subsidiary of Emaar Properties, announced that its unaudited net income reached $62.9m in the first nine months of 2006, up 75% year-on-year. Amlak’s revenues amounted to $79m as of the end of September 2006, up 71% from the $46m registered in the same period last year. On the other hand, Amlak doubled its capital from AED750m ($204m) to AED1.5bn ($409m) during this period. Amlak Finance, established by Emaar in 2000 as a private joint stock company to undertake real estate finance, was last traded at AED7.18 ($2).
Country Profile: Egypt
International rating agency Moody’s Investors Service released its latest report on Egypt affirming Egypt’s government bond ratings at Baa3 with a negative outlook in local currency, and Ba1 with a stable outlook for foreign currency bonds. The report stated that the Egyptian economy has usually been vulnerable to external shocks, with growth controlled by the structure of the economy. Moody’s forecasts Egypt’s real growth rate at 6.8% for FY2005-2006, up from 4.5% the previous year. The report added that this strong performance has been supported by high oil and gas prices, a solid tourism sector and structural reforms introduced by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif’s government. The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has improved significantly from less than 3% of GDP in FY2003-2004 to almost 5.8% in FY2005-2006 amid the successful privatization strategy and the greater investor confidence in the country’s economy, according to the report. In addition, the creation of the Monetary Policy Committee in 2003 and the adoption of the Unified Banking Law enhanced the independence of the Central Bank of Egypt. Finally, Moody’s stated that regional political uncertainty continues to create internal tension, however it is unlikely to destabilize the country.
