MENA-2 MONDAY MORNING ROUND-UP

Egypt
Ministry of Housing to receive a final set of 1,260 units in Al Rehab City Reserve requirement rate is appropriate, according to the CBE CBE reduces size of T-bill sale Postal workers strike across Egypt for pay raise First witnesses in court for Mubarak trial

Saudi Arabia
Director of Dammam Port denies shipping delays

Agenda
Egypt Tue 6 September >> Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) 2Q2011 results Sat 10 September >> Ezz Steel AGM Mon 12 September >> Maridive EGM regarding 1:6 bonus shares

Egypt News
Ministry of Housing to receive a final set of 1,260 units in Al Rehab City The Ministry of Housing is in the process of receiving 1,260 units in phase nine of Al Rehab City, a compound by TMG Holding (TMG) [TMGH.CA], Al Mal reported. (Al Mal) TMG Holding: EGP3.95, Rating: Buy, FV: EGP8.90, MCap: USD1,368 million, TMGH EY / TMGH.CA Reserve requirement rate is appropriate, according to the CBE The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) does not intend to review the reserve requirement rate on deposits in local currency that currently stands at 14%, an unnamed source at the CBE told Al Mal. Liquidity levels are appropriate to support lending activity and therefore there is no need to lower the rate, the source said, adding that the CBE is ready to lower the rate for specific sectors that need support as it did two years ago when it lowered the rate for lending to SMEs in an effort to stimulate lending to the sector. The comments came in response to rising calls from some local banks to lower the reserve requirement rate to free some liquidity, the newspaper wrote. (Al Mal) CBE reduces size of T-bill sale The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) sold EGP3.25 billion (USD546 million) in domestic treasury bills (T-bills) on Sunday, paring EGP1.75 billion from the amount it had offered, Egypts Finance Ministry said. The CBE sold EGP1.5 billion of 91-day T-bills on behalf of the Finance Ministry at an average yield of 12.053%, up from 11.995% at last weeks auction. The CBE also sold EGP1.75 billion of 259-day T-bills, half of the amount it had offered, at an average yield of 12.991%, up from 12.912% at the last issue on 16 August 2011. (Reuters) Postal workers strike across Egypt for pay raise Thousands of Egypts postal workers are continuing a strike for the second day in a row. Postal workers in the Governorates of Gharbiya, Qena, Ismailiya, Northern Sinai, Meniya, Sharqiya, Beni-Suwaif, El-Fayoum, Luxor and Aswan - which cover geographic districts from one end of the country to the other - have shut down 50% of Egypts post offices since yesterday. Colleagues in the Governorates of Alexandria and Kafr El-Sheikh are set to join the action. Workers are demanding that the government fire hundreds of what they consider corrupt managers, as well as tens of highly paid consultants. The workers are also demanding a 7% annual pay increase to keep up with inflation and a 200% bonus for meeting annual production goals. The postal workers strike was called last Friday by the newly formed Independent Union of Postal Workers. (Al Ahram)

First witnesses in court for Mubarak trial A top police official and three other officers will testify today in the trial of Egypts ousted President Hosni Mubarak, the first witnesses to take the stand in a case that has gripped Egypt and the Arab world. One reason Judge Ahmed Refaat gave for banning live cameras was to protect the testimony of witnesses. Lawyers, who applauded the decision, said that it was to prevent witnesses being influenced by each other or the public. Mubarak is charged with involvement in the killing of protesters. The three other witnesses called by the court are also police officers who were in the operations room during the 18 days of protests. (Reuters)

Saudi Arabia News

Director of Dammam Port denies shipping delays According to Al-Riyadh Newspaper, Naeem Al Naeem, the Director of the King Abdul Aziz Port in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, has denied that there are any delays in shipments from the port. This comes after ICIS issued a report earlier this week quoting a source as saying that congestion at the Dammam Port was causing delays in shipments of polyolefins. According to Al Naeem, the port has continued its 24-hour non-stop operations and shipments are sent out immediately after all the necessary approvals are granted. Al Naeem added that SAR800 million worth of projects are being planned at the port, including an expansion of the port to 1.5 million square metres. Al-Riyadh Newspaper also quoted another source in the shipping business as saying that congestion at the Dammam Port is mainly being driven by higher production from petrochemical companies and that this is a common issue amongst most ports in the GCC region during the high season. (Argaam)
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