CI Capital cut its price target on the stock of Orascom Construction Industries, Egypt's largest listed firm, as it turns conservative on the building and fertiliser giant's contracting business. Weeks of political unrest that toppled Egypt's Hosni Mubarak inspired waves of protest across the Middle East, and will likely delay the launch of several public-private partnership projects (PPP), which OCI was a primary candidate to win, analysts said. "We expect natural gas contractual pricing to escalate starting 2014 ... that might put pressure on Egypt fertilizer segment's gross margin within OCI's plants," CI Capital said in a note to clients. The brokerage cut its price target on the stock to 286.9 Egyptian pounds (LE) from LE306. CI Capital, however, continues to expect the company's fertiliser business to be a significant driver of value. Shares of Orascom were trading up 2.2 per cent when the Egyptian Bourse closed at 13:30 EET.
