Sixth of October for Development and Investment (SODIC) on Monday announced plans to raise EGP 8.7 billion from contracts in 2018.

Over the course of this year, the real estate developer forecasts delivering 1,048 units at a total value of EGP 3.9 billion, according to a statement to the Egyptian Exchange (EGX).

Moreover, the Egypt-based firm said it would invest around EGP 4.13 billion in 2018, including installments of land plots.

In December, SODIC said that it was seeking to generate around EGP 57.8 billion in revenues from its projects within 10 years.

SODIC last reported net profits of EGP 166.2 million in the third quarter of 2017 up from EGP 108.7 million in the same period a year earlier.

Implementing the value-added tax (VAT) will achieve proceeds between EGP 190 billion and EGP 200 billion during fiscal year 2017/2018, the head of the Egyptian Tax Authority, Abdel Moniem Mattar, said on Wednsday.

Mattar added in his remarks on the sidelines of the Builders of Egypt Conference that the VAT will be applied at a rate of 14% beginning next July, instead of its current 13% rate.

Applying the VAT in Egypt began last September, as it replaced the sales tax, and it is expected to achieve an additional revenue of EGP 30 billion per year.

The Egyptian finance minister recently issued the executive regulations of the VAT Law.

The regulations will reach the ministry within a day or two, the deputy finance minister for tax policies, Amr Al-Mounir, told Mubasher on Tuesday.

Returns from the VAT surged 211% in January to EGP 211 billion compared to EGP 9 billion in January 2016, he had previously revealed.

Gold prices rose early Thursday despite an increase in the value of the US dollar after the US Federal Reserve decided to increase interest rates by 0.25%.

By 03:10am GMT, spot gold grew 1.97% to $1,224.35 an ounce, while silver added 3.16% to $17.457 an ounce.

In the meantime, the dollar index edged up 0.09% to 100.45.

On Wednesday, the US Fed decided to raise interest rates to between 0.75% and 1.00%.

The Fed's statement indicated a state of unclarity regarding financial policy and noted that raising interest rates will be gradual, said Mahmoud Zakareya, commodity analyst at Sabayik Alkuwait.

He added that the Fed may increase rates once or twice more this year and this has helped gold prices hold after Wednesday's interest rate rise.

Technically, prices are currently "attractive" with gold targeting $1,230 an ounce, the analyst said.

Gold prices tend to receive a boost from political uncertainty in Europe, which will see upcoming elections in the Netherlands, France, and the triggering of Article 50 for Brexit, he added.

The Egyptian minister of petroleum and mineral resources revealed that an agreement with the Saudi side has been reached to receive oil shipments from Aramco.

Tarek Al Molla added in a statement on Wednesday that recently there has been communications between the two sides to resume oil shipments, especially since the agreement is still valid.

The Ministry of Petroleum said that Aramco explained in a note that delaying the shipments was due to commercial circumstances in line with the fluctuations seen in oil prices globally, and with Saudi Arabia lowering its oil production while refineries were under periodic maintenance.

The ministry of petroleum's official spokesman Hamdy Abdel Aziz had told Mubasher in October that Saudi Aramco notified the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) of the suspension of the agreed oil shipments.

After that, the EGPC contracted 700,000 tonnes of diesel and gasoline from international markets, an amount that was supposed to be supplied by Aramco.

Egyptian Arabian Themar Securities Brokerage said its profits for the second quarter of 2016 jumped 274.62% year-over-year to EGP 186.82 million ($20.99 million) from EGP 49.87 million ($5.60 million), according to a bourse filing.

Over the first six months, the company earned EGP 187.88 million ($21.11 million), higher 3.76% year-on-year from EGP 50 million ($5.62 million).

Sales in the first half also moved up by 21.91% to EGP 848.52 million, compared with EGP 696.03 million for the year-ago period.

In the first quarter, the company registered EGP 1.06 million profits, compared with EGP 128,470 for Q1-15.