The Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange (CASE) broke through a new barrier by gaining 1.3 per cent to pull itself above 6,800 points on the CASE30 index, suggesting that it would gain more momentum during the upcoming period. In addition, the performance of the market during the week ending 14 December was much better than that of other regional markets. For example, the Saudi Tadawul share index rose by only 0.6 per cent, while both UAE markets gained 0.6 per cent during each the week. NASR CITY HOUSING (NCH): The consortium led by Beltone Investment purchased just over 26 per cent of the company for LE110 per share after Orascom Hotel and Development (OHD) withdrew from the consortium. This ended the three week-long saga that started with the consortium, including Beltone Investment, Beltone Capital and OHD, offering to buy 100 per cent of the company at LE90 per share. The low interest from possible sellers pushed the consortium to increase its offer to LE110, but for only 40 per cent of NCH. The holding company of NCH, the National Company for Construction and Development, remarked that the offered price is lower than NCH's fair value especially, after the settlement of a dispute over a piece of land that NCH owns. With the dispute settled, Beltone, now NCH's largest shareholder, wishes to develop this plot over time and make a tidy profit. TELECOM EGYPT: Egypt's fixed line monopoly is in the process of forming a consortium to bid for a licence to operate Saudi Arabia's second fixed line network. The licence is expected to be offered during the first half of 2007. The bidding requirements stipulate that five Saudi investors should be involved in constructing the new network. The company is also planning to apply for a licence to provide WIMAX services in Egypt. If acquired, TE will be able to offer VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) services, a move that will compensate for the decline in its international call revenues once the international voice market is liberalised. MOBINIL: The company's board of directors will meet today to discuss the feasibility of applying for a 3G licence. Mobinil's CEO, Alex Shallaby, hinted during the company's general assembly meeting last week that a capital increase might be considered to finance the acquisition. To acquire a licence, Mobinil would have to pay the National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (NTRA), LE3.34 billion, in addition to an annual royalty fee of 2.4 per cent of the company's gross operating revenue. Mobinil's subscribers base reached nine million or 50.5 per cent of the overall cellular market. ETISALAT EGYPT: The third mobile network operator said it expects to corner a market share of 25 per cent by 2010, three years after its introduction into the market next year. Etisalat's chairman, Mohamed Omran, said that it expects to have 10 million subscribers in Egypt by 2010, based on projections that the mobile penetration rate among the Egyptian population would increase to 50 per cent at that time. Commenting on these statements, HC Brokerage said this is "a bit optimistic any way you measure it". HC forecast a 33 per cent penetration rate in 2008, 37.4 per cent in 2009 and 40.5 per cent in 2010. Meanwhile, Omran said that problems related to acquiring licences in Egypt's governorates to construct cell sites together with issues regarding national roaming on the Vodafone and Mobinil networks, might lead to a slight delay in the third mobile network launch on February 2007. SIXTH OF OCTOBER DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT (SODIC): The company's board has approved the acquisition of the Palm Hills Company through a share swap. SODIC will increase its paid- in capital by issuing 25.369 million new shares to be swapped with 3.07 million shares of Palm Hills Development Company. This represents 100 per cent of the latter company. Taking into consideration SODIC's new share value after the capital increase, the deal is valued at LE1.9 billion. According to HC Brokerage, the newly formed entity will own land in prime locations in Greater Cairo and the Northern Coast with an estimated total area of 12 million square metres. SODIC has released its financial results from 1 January 2006 to 7 November 2006, showing a net income of LE22 million. The net income for the whole fiscal year 2005 was LE41.3 million due to a one-time bulk sale of land during the year. AL-ARAFA INVESTMENT AND CONSULTANCY: The company's IPO was heavily oversubscribed with the investors submitting buy orders for 79.9 million shares at $1.14 each. The offered stake comprised only 16.5 million shares. The price of the offering is five per cent lower than the rate at which investors, subscribing in the company's private placement, paid last week. The private placement closed with an allocation rate of 16.1 per cent. The company is using the proceeds of the sale to increase its capital. Compiled by Sherine Abdel-Razek
