The Chinese Yuan was the cause of a limited market revival in the early trading sessions of this week. Energised by China's announcement it will relax the peg its currency have with the dollar, with a resulting decline in the value of Chinese exports worldwide, international markets witnessed a pinch of buoyancy and the local market was no exception. The CASE30 index gained an overall 4.1 per cent in four consecutive trading sessions. On the macro level, encouraging news came with the volume of trade exchange between Egypt and the United States surging by 22.2 per cent during the first quarter of 2010 to hit $2.24 billion. The trade deficit on the Egyptian side declined by 9.5 per cent with the value of Egyptian exports hiking by 55 per cent. The increase was mainly fed by a 101 per cent jump in oil exports to reach $342.5 million. The value of Qualified Industrial Zone (QIZ) exports rose by 13.2 per cent. Egyptian imports from the US rose by 11.5 per cent to reach $1.54 billion. The Central Bank of Egypt decided last week to maintain interest rates at their current levels of 8.25 per cent for deposits and 9.75 per cent for lending, citing the easing of inflationary pressures. The consumer price index continued to decline in May to 10.5 per cent versus 11.4 per cent in April. A Reuters survey of 11 economists predicted gross domestic product (GDP) would grow 5.2 per cent in the fiscal year ending June 2011, while nine economists forecast it would grow 5.3 per cent the year after. Growth fell to 4.7 per cent last year, and government officials expect the current year's growth rate to be around 5.3 per cent. The poll also predicted inflation would reach 10.9 per cent in the next fiscal year and fall to 8.5 per cent the year after that. MARIDIVE AND OIL SERVICES: The biggest oil services firm in the Middle East by fleet size last week both cancelled contracts to build two vessels in India and finalised a deal to build two other vessels in China. The Indian contract, worth $46 million, was terminated because the Indian firm did not meet its delivery date. The Chinese contract is valued at $37 million and the vessels will be completed by end of 2011 with revenues reaching about $5 million per year. The firm offers services to oil companies that include Total, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Saudi Aramco, Qatargas, Kuwait Oil Company and other oil giants. It owns over 60 marine units. Maridive's first quarter net profits fell more than one third to $15.4 million compared with $23.4 million in the same period last year due to a decline in oil industry activity. PALM HILLS DEVELOPMENTS: The high-end real estate developer has shelved a plan to sell LE500 million worth of bonds until early 2011. The company's chief financial officer was quoted in the local press as saying that the delay is because completing the required procedures would take longer than expected. The company's board of directors approved in January the sale of up to LE1 billion in bonds as part of a bigger plan to raise new funds in order to expand. According to Reuters, the company completed a LE699 million rights issue in April and acquired a LE467 million in syndicated loans in January. 6 OCTOBER DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT COMPANY (SODIC): The company will buy a 50 per cent stake in Syrian real estate firm Palmyara for $40.5 million. Analysts believe that an increased number of developers will be heading to the Syrian and Lebanese markets due to the high price of land in Egypt and the collapse of Dubai's property sector. Palmyra, a subsidiary of the MAS Economic Group, plans to launch a housing project on a 500,000 square metre plot near Damascus in the first half of 2011, noted a SODIC statement. The MAS Economic Group is headed by businessman Firas Tlass, son of a former Syrian defence minister and also appointed chairman of the EFG-Hermes Syria fund. Palmyra owns 2.6 million square metres of land in and around the Syrian cities of Damascus, Latakia and Aleppo, SODIC said. EZZ STEEL REBARS (ESRS): The company predicts that local demand for steel rebars, which represented 75 per cent of its sales in the first quarter, would grow to 7.4 million tons in 2010 from 7.2 million tons last year, fuelled by housing needs. The company's marketing director, George Matta, told Reuters a slowdown in Europe on the back of the Eurozone debt crisis would be countered by growing demand from Middle East and US markets. The company posted a 78 per cent year-on-year jump in first quarter net profits to LE105 million as strong domestic demand and a recovery in global flat steel prices boosted margins. "Improving steel prices are basically behind the market recovery," Matta said. "We will have to follow the global price hikes. As producers, we have to pass on these price increases to the market." RAYA HOLDING FOR TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS (RAYA): The company refused a final acquisition offer made by an international firm in the telecom sector to get a controlling stake in the Raya Contact Centre and C3 for telecom services. The company revealed neither the name of the international firm nor the value of the offer.
