. Earth Science News .
TRADE WARS
'Made in China' now made in Egypt

Chinese and Egyptian employees work together at the Chinese-owned Nile Textile Group factory in the free zone of Port Said, 220 kms northeast of Cairo, on November 8, 2009. With cheap labour, investment incentives and unrestricted exports, one Chinese textile group has turned to Egypt as an ideal location to produce its ready-made garments, beating stiff competition at home. Photo courtesy AFP.

Greece cannot cancel disputed Cosco port deal: minister
Athens (AFP) Nov 8, 2009 - Greece cannot backtrack from a disputed port deal with Chinese transport operator Cosco that has sparked recurring strikes from protesting dockworkers, the Greek economy minister said on Sunday. "There is no legal way to cancel the agreement, this would give a poor signal to international markets on the Greek government's credibility," Louka Katseli told Eleftherotypia daily. "Cooperation with China is of strategic importance to Greece," said the minister, who also holds the shipping portfolio under the new socialist government that swept to power last month.

The new administration is in a tight spot over the 35-year concession of container facilities at the main Greek port of Piraeus to the Chinese trade giant, approved by the previous conservative government last year. The socialists had criticised the deal as "colonial" whilst in opposition, but were cornered last month when Piraeus dockworkers began a series of rolling strikes that trapped thousands of containers in the harbour. Their union wants the deal scrapped, fearing the new operators will bring large-scale layoffs and an influx of cheap Chinese goods will undermine the already shaky Greek family-owned store sector. The latest strike began on November 3 and was to expire late Sunday, but the union announced another 48-hour stoppage for Monday and Tuesday. The dockworkers say the government had failed to give assurances on labour relations and the extent of future state control over the facilities. Katseli on Sunday ruled out the prospect of a civil mobilisation, despite calls for a firmer hand from the Greek commercial sector whose Christmas season orders have been thrown into disarray by the strike.

A lawsuit against the dockworkers by a commerce association in the Peloponnese region of Messinia is to be examined on Monday. The minister has pledged to "exhaust" every legal option available under the agreement and European laws to improve the terms for the Greek state. A socialist former minister of merchant marine, George Anomeritis, was last week appointed to head the Piraeus port authority and jumpstart the talks, amid reports that other ministers are questioning Katseli's handling of the crisis. Under the deal, the concession of Piraeus' docks II and III to Cosco is to bring a guaranteed premium of 3.4 billion euros (five billion dollars) and boost the port's capacity by 250 percent.
by Staff Writers
 Port Said, Egypt (AFP) Nov 8, 2009
 With cheap labour, investment incentives and unrestricted exports, one Chinese textile group has turned to Egypt as an ideal location to produce its ready-made garments, beating stiff competition at home.

The Chinese-owned Nile Textile Group has set up shop in the Port Said free zone, overlooking the north entrance of the Suez Canal, and developed an industrial estate now hiring 600 workers, 20 percent of which are Chinese and the rest Egyptian.

Cheap raw materials and favourable export conditions have given the company easy access to foreign markets.

It's a bargain for the Nile Textile Group, which imports 60 percent of its basic products tax free and then sends them outside Egypt, mainly to the United States.

Most of their cut-price clothes are now labelled "Made in Egypt" rather than "Made in China".

"Egyptian free zones allow for export all over the world with almost no restrictions," said Mohammed Abdel Samie, the industrial estate's administrative director.

Local salaries are low enough to compete with those of Chinese workers, even with a system of bonuses offered to the Egyptian workers at the end of each month.

"In the factories where salaries are fixed, we earn a maximum of 700 to 800 Egyptian pounds (around 130 to 150 dollars) a month. In this company, it works out better for us," said factory manager Mansur al-Said.

In the neon-lit factories, Egyptian workers in headscarves work side by side with Chinese technicians in white blouses to the thumping sounds of the sewing machines.

Instructions are posted in Arabic and in Chinese.

As for the daily communication between colleagues, a little extra work was required.

"They taught me a few words of Chinese and they are learning Arabic," Leila Ali, a seamstress, told AFP.

Around 950 Chinese companies have set up operations in Egyptian free zones, representing a total investment of nearly 300 million dollars.

Most of them work in industry (526 companies), 306 companies are in the service industry, 31 in the agricultural sector and eight in tourism, according to Egypt's General Authority for Investment (GAFI) which oversees free zones in the country.

It is hoped the Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which kicks off on Sunday in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh and attended by about 50 states, will speed up the rhythm with the signing of a Chinese-Egyptian agreement to encourage more investment in the country.

The meteoric increase in economic cooperation between China and Africa in the last few years will be at the heart of the summit, which will be attended by Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Direct Chinese investment in Africa leapt from 491 million dollars in 2003 to 7.8 billion dollars in 2008. Trade between the two has increased tenfold since the start of the decade.

FOCAC is held every three years and this will be the fourth since it started in 2000.

Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
 Global Trade News


Memory Foam Mattress Review
SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS
 Solar Energy Solutions
Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ...
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


TRADE WARS
Australia approves Wuhan stake in iron ore
 Sydney (AFP) Nov 5, 2009
 Australia said Thursday it had approved a bid by China's Wuhan Iron and Steel Co to take a 271 million dollar (246 million US) stake in an iron ore project of miner Centrex. The Foreign Investments Review Board gave the unconditional green light for Wuhan to take a 60 percent stake of the iron ore rights to five Centrex-owned tenements on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula. ... read more






The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement