Egypt: SCZone inks $20mln denim project in Qantara West
The project will span 16,700 square meters and will focus on producing denim yarns, threads, and fabrics—the essential raw materials for jeans production.
Half of the plant's annual output, projected at 18 million tons of fabric, will serve export markets, while the other half will meet the demands of local Egyptian factories.
The facility is expected to create around 500 direct job opportunities.
Chairman of SCZone Walid Gamal El-Din described the project as a significant step in SCZONE's broader strategy to localize high-value textile industries and enhance Egypt's export capacity.
He noted that this marks the 25th project in the Qantara West Industrial Zone, bringing total investments there to $681.5 million and generating 34,955 direct job opportunities.
© 2020-2023 Arab Finance For Information Technology. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Zawya
an hour ago
- Zawya
Indian jeweller Titan eyes shifting some manufacturing to Gulf as US trade tensions escalate
India's biggest jeweller and watchmaker Titan is exploring shifting some manufacturing to the Middle East Gulf to maintain low-tariff access to U.S. markets amid trade tensions between Washington and New Delhi, Managing Director C.K. Venkataraman said on Tuesday. Titan, part of the Tata Group conglomerate, announced this month plans to acquire a majority stake in Dubai-based luxury retailer Damas, which operates 146 stores across the Gulf. In light of the deal, valued at $283 million, Venkataraman told Reuters the region is being considered 'as a manufacturing base to export to the U.S.' His comments reflect how global companies may seek new routes to navigate trade barriers, as the U.S. levies or threatens tariffs on international trade partners. Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump slapped a surprise 25% tariff on imports from India and threatened further hikes this week over India's purchases of Russian oil. In contrast, the United Arab Emirates faces a 10% tariff under Trump's baseline rate. Titan's Tanishq brand has several U.S. stores and is planning a major expansion, while its diamond-focused label CaratLane launched in the U.S. in October, the company said. Titan began talks to buy Damas in 2024, before U.S. trade policy shifts came into focus. Shifting some manufacturing to a Gulf Cooperation Council country would be a way to mitigate recent rises in U.S. tariffs, Venkataraman said in a video call with Reuters. The U.S. is a less feasible manufacturing base due to cost and skills constraints, especially for artisan-made jewellery, he said. "If the tariffs remain like what they are currently threatened to be, then any arbitrage on a tariff ... any significant arbitrage would be meaningful for us to consider," Venkataraman said. (Reporting by Luke Tyson; Editing by Susan Fenton)
Zawya
3 hours ago
- Zawya
B2B opens a new window into Egypt's real estate market through the gateway of Oman
Mr. Nehad Adel, Chairman of B2B for Real Estate Consultancy and Investment Advisory, stated that among the growing momentum in Egypt's real estate—now overcrowded with numerous new and emerging companies and a large influx of inexperienced young individuals—there is a clear need to rethink traditional marketing mechanisms and explore new and different markets that can restore balance to the industry and unlock real investment opportunities. Based on this vision, B2B decided to take a different path by turning its focus to the Omani market, which it views as a promising destination that combines political stability, currency strength, cultural respect, and a diverse range of competitively priced properties suitable for a wide segment of Egyptians. A Real Investment Opportunity for Egyptians – Locally and Abroad The Chairman pointed out that B2B was the first to tap into the Omani market in an organized way, after identifying a genuine desire among many Egyptians to purchase property abroad that would protect the value of their money, allow them to own assets in foreign currency, and potentially obtain legal residency and open bank accounts—alongside the added benefit of earning attractive dollar-based rental income. He added that the company successfully opened the Omani real estate market to Egyptian buyers—either through partnerships with Omani developers or through collaborations with Egyptian developers operating in Oman. Today, B2B has become a key gateway for Omani real estate in Egypt, supported by a specialized sales & marketing team based in Egypt that promotes Omani properties as an attractive and secure investment choice. Commercial and Administrative Investments: A Priority for the Next Phase He further explained that in line with its goal to create new opportunities and deliver guaranteed returns to investors, the company is shifting its focus toward commercial and administrative properties, which tend to yield better returns than residential ones—provided the projects are located within established residential communities, ensuring high footfall and steady revenues. The company has already secured exclusive marketing rights for a number of commercial and administrative projects within Egypt and plans to present them using creative and distinctive marketing strategies unlike the conventional methods currently dominating the market. Unlocking Potential in the Saudi Market He also revealed that B2B is now putting spotlight on the Saudi Market, noting that the company is awaiting the expected opening of property ownership for foreigners—a move that could open up significant opportunities for Egyptian buyers, especially given the strength, stability, and rapid growth of the Saudi real estate sector. The company believes the Saudi market holds great potential for real estate investment, particularly with the continuous launch of diverse new cities and projects. Professional Marketing in an Oversaturated Market In conclusion, the company emphasized that current marketing methods have become repetitive, and clients are growing weary of the traditional approaches used by most firms. Hence, B2B aims to provide innovative and professional marketing tools that cater to the unique characteristics of each project and genuinely reach qualified buyers—following a methodology based on understanding the market first, then the product, and finally the investor's needs.
Khaleej Times
4 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Intel struggles with key manufacturing process for next PC chip, sources say
The production process that Intel hoped would pave the way to winning manufacturing deals and restore its edge in churning out high-end, high-margin chips is facing a big hurdle on quality as it puts newer technologies to the test, two people briefed on the matter told Reuters. For months, Intel has promised investors it would increase manufacturing using a process it calls 18A. It spent billions of dollars developing 18A, including the construction or upgrades of several factories, with the goal of challenging Taiwan's chipmaking heavyweight, TSMC. Intel wants to round out its business designing chips that it largely makes in-house and TSMC helps it produce, with a contract manufacturing business that can compete with this key supplier. But whether Intel revives advanced chip production in the U.S. and gets its contract foundry on solid footing depends on closing the technology gap with TSMC. Early tests disappointed customers last year, but Intel has said its 18A is on track to make its "Panther Lake" laptop semiconductors at high volume starting in 2025, which include next-generation transistors and a more efficient way to deliver power to the chip. The chipmaker has hoped that producing such an advanced in-house chip would grow external interest in its foundry, at a time when new CEO Lip-Bu Tan has explored a major shift to course-correct that fledgling business, Reuters previously reported. Yet only a small percentage of the Panther Lake chips printed via 18A have been good enough to make available to customers, said the two people, who were briefed on the company's test data since late last year. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because Intel did not authorize them to disclose such information. This percentage figure, known as yield, means Intel may struggle to make its high-end laptop chip profitably in the near future. Yield may inch up or down as a foundry optimizes its manufacturing process. Companies also calculate yield in a variety of ways, which can make this critical data a moving goal post, the two people and two additional sources with knowledge of Intel's manufacturing operation said. Yields generally "start off low and improve over time," Intel's Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner told Reuters in a July 24 interview. For Panther Lake, "it's early in the ramp," he said. In a statement on July 30, Intel added: "Our performance and yield trajectory gives us confidence this will be a successful launch that further strengthens Intel's position in the notebook market." Intel in the past has aimed for a yield north of 50% before ramping production because starting any earlier risked damaging its profit margin, three of the sources said. Intel typically does not make the lion's share of its profit until yields reach roughly 70% to 80%, key for a chip as small as Panther Lake where many defects would make it a tough sell, the three people said. Profit also flows from market expansions and building up factory output, Intel said. An immense yield increase would be a tall task by Panther Lake's fourth-quarter launch, the two people with knowledge of Intel's manufacturing operation said. But without such a jump, Intel may have to sell some chips at a lower profit margin or at a loss, the two sources briefed on test data said. Panther Lake is "fully on track," Intel said in its July 30 comment. Intel did not specify the yield threshold at which its chips become profitable. The company has warned it could exit leading-edge manufacturing entirely if it does not land external business for 14A, which is 18A's next-generation successor. 'HAIL MARY' Intel's 18A process involved big manufacturing changes and introduced newer technologies all at once, such as a next-generation transistor design and a feature that would improve the delivery of energy to a chip. This created manufacturing risks due to the complexity of fabricating chips, three of the sources said. Intel took on this challenge to close the performance gap with TSMC, but its aggressive timeline for a rollout of unproven systems set it up for failure, said the two people briefed on the company's test data. One likened the effort to a "Hail Mary" football pass. In April, Intel said it had begun a crucial step toward printing Panther Lake chips via 18A known as "risk production." The company also showed off several laptops it said used Panther Lake chips at the Taiwan Computex expo in May. But problems have persisted. One way chip manufacturers gauge progress is to measure the number of defects per area of a chip, which can vary based on a semiconductor's design. Relative to industry standards, the Panther Lake chips had about three times too many defects for Intel to start high-volume production, the two sources briefed on test data said. As of late last year, only around 5% of the Panther Lake chips that Intel printed were up to its specifications, these sources said. This yield figure rose to around 10% by this summer, said one of the sources, who cautioned that Intel could claim a higher number if it counted chips that did not hit every performance target. Reuters could not establish the precise yield at present. In the interview with Reuters, Zinsner disputed these figures and said "yields are better than that." He did not give a number for July or late 2024, and Intel declined to provide this data. "Our expectation is every month they'll get better and better, such that we're at a yield level that is good for production-level Panther Lake at the end of the year," he said, adding: "I wouldn't say that margins are accretive even at those yield levels, so we still have to make improvement." Tan has tapped supply-chain contacts more than usual for Intel and has given them data to help improve chip yields, Zinsner said. For now, Intel remains partly dependent on TSMC to make its in-house designed chips. An Intel executive said in June that Nova Lake, a chip it is planning after Panther Lake, will be made partly on TSMC, too.
