Sherine Abdel-Razek reports on a market The CASE30 gained 2.3 per cent during the week ending 22 June amid a handful of announcements related to both improvement in the macro-economic scene and efforts aimed at improving the management of the local bourse. Fitch Rating upgraded its outlook for Egypt's credit rating from stable to positive which gave the market a pat on the back. Fitch cited ongoing economic reforms, faster economic growth and increased investments for the change. It was also revealed that foreign portfolio investments reached $2.76 billion during fiscal year 2005/2006. On another front the CASE's regulatory body, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) appointed the UK's Securities and Investment Institute to train market employees and brokerages. And the CMA's Board of Directors (BOD) has approved amendments to the capital market law's executive regulations revising the legal, regulatory and monitoring framework for setting up and managing investment funds. The new amendments included are related to the funds' capital, the structure of BOD, and the creation of new monitoring mechanisms. VODAFONE EGYPT: The company delisted from CASE and got a new CEO. With less than one percent of the company's capital being traded in CASE since Vodafone Groups' move in November to raise its stake in the company to 54.9 per cent compared to 44.7 per cent owned by Telecom Egypt, the company found it more practical to delist. Under Egyptian law any company can delist its shares from the exchange to avoid publicly disclosing information about its operations if 75 per cent of an Extraordinary General Assembly Meeting (EGAM) approves the measure. Minority investors now have the option to sell their shares at the highest recorded price during the last month. The decision was made at the company's EGAM held earlier this week. Shareholders also approved the appointment of the current CEO Ian Gray as its chairman following the resignation of current chairman Mohamed Nosseir. MOBINIL: The company seems to be seriously considering getting a 3G licence with press reports quoting its CEO Alex Shalaby saying that he will recommend applying for a 3G licence to the BOD before the end of 2007. Shalaby pointed out that with the increase in its subscribers, the company needs a new spectrum as the company is running out of the allocated 2G spectrum and is already suffering problems in congested areas in Cairo and Alexandria. ORASCOM TELECOM HOLDING (OTH) selected Telefon AB LM Ericsson to supply and install the network radio equipment that is needed for the access network of its Bangladeshi operation, Banglalink. This new equipment broaden the services that Bengalink provides to it 2G subscribers. Banglalink's network already covers one third of the country. OTH purchased 1.06 million treasury shares by 14 June at a price range of LE69.9-LE73.9. OTH previously announced its intention to purchase 37.7 million shares during the period 29 May-29 June. AL-WATANY BANK OF EGYPT (WBE): The bank stated that the CBE has conditionally agreed on three banks; the National Bank of Kuwait, EFG Eurobank, and Kuwaiti Commercial Bank, to perform due diligence process. The CBE gave the three banks a six-week period to submit their final financial bid. ALEXANDRIA REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT: The company's extraordinary general assembly Meeting gave the green light to selling the 10 per cent stake it has in Arabian Company for Urban Development (ACUD) to Carramar Development at a share price of LE950. ACUD owns Madinty compound in new Cairo. The sales of Madinty so far reached LE14 billion, of which LE1.4 billion worth of instalments were paid to the company. Madinty is a large housing compound that includes 87,000 apartments and 7,600 villas. HELIOPOLIS HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT: The company's share price jumped by 35 per cent through the week pushed by a report released by EFG-Hermes estimating the company's fair value at a level that is more than 70 per cent of its current value. The report attributed the positive expectations to the sharp increase in land prices in the Heliopolis area where the company owns a 34 million square metre piece of land .
