A Cairo investment bank predicted that a new tax regime negatively impacted Mobinil's second quarter figures, the Egyptian English daily al-Ahram reported last week. Beltone Financial said the negative impact would only be felt in this period, and not in later periods. The analysis comes as Mobinil reported a loss for the first half of 2011. Mobinil's first quarter income declined 93.6 percent on the previous year. Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) for quarter two were down to 952 Million LE, or 13 percent from the previous year. In total, Mobinil's losses for the first half of 2011 were a 111 percent drop from last year's figures, totally 108.5 LE or $18.2 million. The 18 days of unrest that unseated former president Hosni Mubarak, a social media scandal, higher operating costs, and the new tax regime all contributed to Mobinil's depressed earnings. There were positive indicators in Mobinil's second quarter figures. In the second quarter, its subscriber base grew by 0.6 percent, and revenues were up 3.5 percent. Mobinil is Egypt's second largest mobile operator with 30.5 million subscribers. It is owned primarily by Orascom and the French Company Orange. BM