This week witnessed many developments on different fronts. News from Dubai, developments on the Orascom-France Telecom dispute over Mobinil and the start of transactions in the its first ever Egyptian Depository Receipts (EDRs) have directed the CASE30 up and down with an overall positive sentiment, covering the market even when it had ended in the red after profit taking sessions. Abu Dhabi threw a lifeline to neighbouring debt-laden Dubai by extending a $10 billion credit facility to escape a bond default. The news pushed markets of the whole region, including Egypt, up earlier this week. ORASCOM DEVELOPMENT HOLDING (ODH): Transactions on the company's -- and Egypt's first ever -- EDRs started on Sunday at LE21.03. They gained 9.4 per cent on the first day amid retail investor interest in the stock. EFG-Hermes noted in a comment on the listing that the currency difference between the shares listed on the Swiss Exchange and the EDRs listed on the Egyptian Exchange will create arbitrage opportunities for investors able to execute high- volume transactions. The aim of issuing the EDRs is to make the company more appealing in the local market where investors were earlier reluctant to buy due to the fact that it was denominated in Swiss francs. ORASCOM TELECOM HOLDINGS (OTH): News about the company's dispute with France Telecom over the ownership of Mobinil was not the only reason the company made headlines. Developments related to another dispute now mean that the company is making news as far as the Canadian market. OTH's Canadian unit Globalive has received the green light to launch commercial operations after Canadian Minister of Industry Tony Clement announced that the government "had found WIND Mobile to be in compliance with Canadian ownership and control requirements," according to an OTH press release. This decision cancels the previous decision of the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). The company will start its operations under the brand name WIND Mobile before Christmas, according to Reuters news agency. The decision challenges the dominance of Rogers Communications, BCE Inc and Telus Corp, which sought to block the newcomer. The fierceness of the expected competition is reflected by the drop in prices of the three companies in the Toronto Stock Exchange after the announcement. Globalive said it has built most of its network and would launch service in Toronto and Calgary as early as next week. It also plans to serve Ottawa, Edmonton and Vancouver. While it was announced on Tuesday that Canada's biggest telecommunications trade union is planning to take the federal government to court to force it to reverse its decision to allow Globalive to operate because it violates Canadian-ownership rules for telecoms companies and threatens jobs, an OTH senior official told local newspapers that his company's plans to go on with launching Globalive network before Christmas is still the same. In a separate development, OTH has decided to choose the offer presented by Mobinil for its Internet service provider (ISP) subsidiary, LINKdotNET, the second player in terms of market share in Egypt's broadband market. The deal will be finalised in January 2010. EGYPTIAN FINANCIAL GROUP EFG- HERMES: The local investment bank witnessed a change in its ownership structure with Dubai Group, a unit of Dubai Holding, selling a seven per cent stake out of the 25 per cent it used to hold in the bank. The move comes as a part of similar offloading of assets in the emirate on Dubai as it struggles to deal with debt obligations. The selling price of the shares was at a leaving price of LE25 per share -- 11 per cent lower than the previous day. Moreover, the price showed a 60 per cent discount to the $1.1 billion Dubai Group, hard hit by Dubai's indebtedness, paid in November 2007 for its nearly 25 per cent stake. Dubai Holding's debt is estimated at $13 to $14 billion and according to analysts is the most at risk of defaulting on debt after Dubai World. CITADEL CAPITAL: The private equity group that was recently listed in the local market sold stakes in ASEC Holding and United Foundries Company for $55 million and would use the funds to invest in other areas. The buyer of the two stakes was the Abu Dhabi-based Emirates International Investment Company group slashing Citadel's stake in each of the two companies to 49 per cent. A Citadel statement said the move came in light of the firm's strategic decision to further diversify its already broad investment footprint to include new sectors such as solid waste management. The group, which controls $8.3 billion in investments had finalised the purchase of two other companies in the solid waste sector. According to the statement, ASEC Holding controls ASEC Cement, cement plant manager ASEC Engineering, turnkey contractor ARESCO and civil and steel fabricator ESACO. On the other hand, Egypt's United Foundries produces 30,000 tonnes of molten metal per year. Meanwhile, ASEC Cement entered a joint venture with Misr Cement Qena to produce and sell ready-mix concrete. MCQC will own 45 per cent of the company's capital and ASEC the remaining 55 per cent. Compiled by Sherine Abdel-Razek
