FT finalises Mobinil deal FRENCH telecommunications giant Telecom (FT) finalised a deal to buy out most of Orascom Telecommunication Media and Technology's (OTMT) stake in Mobinil for $2 billion. This development meant French ownership in the Egyptian mobile operator would grow to 95 per cent. The deal confirmed a memorandum of understanding struck in February, and includes details of the FT's relationship with Mobinil founder Naguib Sawiris. He had previously agreed to sell out some of his shares to FT, starting September 2012. Sawiris is now selling almost all his stake, and it is up to minority stakeholders to either keep their shares, or accept a tender offer from FT. Under the terms of the accord, FT will buy most of the stake held by Sawiris's OTMT for LE202.5 per share. It will then make a tender offer at the same price to minority shareholders. The necessary Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA) approval for the deal is expected to come through next week. If all goes according to plan and the minority shareholders accept, FT will end up owning 95 percent of Egypt's largest mobile operator. Meanwhile, Sawiris will hold on to five per cent. The Egyptian side will retain six of 13 seats on the board, while voting rights will remain as before. New loan to Egypt MINISTER of Planning and International Cooperation Fayza Abul-Naga signed an agreement with the World Bank for a $240 million loan. The money is set to fund the third phase of the power station project in north Giza, with a total investment of $1.59 billion. The bank approved two other major loans to Egypt in the first quarter of 2012. One was aimed at financing infrastructure and sanitary services, while the other was to be used to finance a gas turbine power plant. That plant will use natural gas as its main source of fuel and light diesel oil as a back-up. Mobile subscribers increase THE NUMBER of mobile telephone subscribers in Egypt increased to 91.3 million in January 2012, marking a 28 per cent increase compared to the same month last year, according to the Communication and Information Technology (MCIT). That increase means that the penetration rate among the Egyptian population stands at almost 110 per cent. The winner on this front was Etisalat Misr, whose Subscribers jumped by 132 per cent to reach 21.7 million. Egypt's subscribers increased by 16 per cent, year-on-year, to reach 36.9 million. The Egyptian Company for Mobile Services (ECMS) raised its mobile subscribers by only eight percent, to reach a subscriber base of 32.7 million. CI Capital attributed the outstanding performance of Etisalat Misr to its "14 PT Begad" initiative, under which it offers on-net and off-net call tariffs at LE0.14/minute anytime, and with no additional fees. Ready for lift-off "I expect the Egyptian economy to start jumping ahead by the beginning of next year," said Rainer Herret, chief executive officer at the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce (GACIC). Herret added that the Egyptian industrial infrastructure, for example, is intact, which should allow the economy to recover very quickly. "A lot of German investors are interested in doing business in Egypt," he said during a business meeting organised by GACIC, to discuss business opportunities in Egypt and Germany. Herret also pointed out that Egyptian exports to Germany increased by 77 per cent in 2011, while imports jumped by 21 per cent. "Egypt has solved many of the problems that have appeared since last year's revolution," said Von Wesendonk, head of the economic department at the German embassy in Cairo. "There are a lot of investment opportunities in Egypt, and we hope we can make use of them." But "stability and security need to be sustained in order to encourage investors to come to Egypt," said Oliver Liersch, secretary of state at the Ministry of Economy, Labour and Transportation of Germany's Lower Saxony state. Still, many small and medium-sized businesses have shown interest in investing in Egypt, he added. The most important opportunity for German companies lays in the ability to reach about 1.4 billion consumers through free-trade agreements signed between Egypt and other countries, said Alaa Ezz, secretary-general of the Federation of Egyptian chambers of commerce. "Companies can manufacture their products in Egypt and benefit from customs exemptions if they want to export products to other countries," explained Ezz. Moreover, Wesendonk said that German tourists have started to flow back to Egypt in big numbers. "There is no reason for tourists not to come to Egypt. Everything is ready," he said.
