Egyptian investment and financial services firm Pioneers Holding posted a 263.9 percent rise in its first-quarter net profit on Thursday. Pioneers made a profit of 121.9 million Egyptian pounds ($17 million) in the three months ending March 31, up from 33.5 million pounds in the same period last year. The firm, which specialises in brokerage services, plans to spend 1.2 billion pounds in 2014 to complete ongoing investments and implement new ones. Pioneers offers market research and investment banking for retail and institutional clients. It operates in Egypt the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Earlier this month Pioneers said it plans to finalise an acquisition of 60 percent in real estate company Rooya Group within three months at a cost of 1.23 billion pounds. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/102497.aspx
