Four licenses for the establishment of Iron factories will be offered, as announced by the National Democratic Party (NDP) during the second day of its 9th annual congress Sunday.

Minister of Trade and Industry Rasheed Mohamed Rasheed said 11 companies have applied for licenses to establish iron factories in Egypt. However, only four licenses will be offered, he said, adding that production was expected to increase by 70%.

Bids for these licenses will be carried out with full transparency as the case was with the cement factories during which 15 licenses were offered, he added.

Investment Minister Mahmoud Mohieddin said the size of foreign investments in Egypt reached $ 11 billion, adding that foreign investments reached 13% of the size of investments in Egypt, while 12% are Arab investments and the rest are 72% representing Egyptian investments.

He asserted the fact that the government does not differentiate between the private and the public sectors on the market and the target is always to provide commodities to the citizens at affordable prices.

He referred to the government's policy of merging major companies to establish large entities that could compete regionally and start projects abroad.

Rasheed said the four licenses to be offered to iron companies in the near future are expected to fetch LE 25 billion in investments to be added to the State's budget.

Addressing a press conference attended by Investment Minister Mahmoud Mohieddin and NDP Information Secretary Alieddin Helal, Rasheed said the size of trade exchange with China is increasing and that Chinese products have reached all markets around the globe.

He asserted standing strongly against attempts to smuggle commodities whether coming from China or elsewhere. 

5/11/2007