With increased foreign interest and better-than-expected results by one of its heavyweights, the market reversed its long sliding trend on the week ending 28 August. CASE30, the index tracking the performance of the market's most active 30 stocks, wrapped up the week with a 4.92 per cent gain, closing at 8,375.24 points. Analysts believe the recovery may last a while, given the currently attractive share price levels. On the macro level, the tourism sector -- Egypt's main source of foreign currency -- witnessed a growth in activity. According to Minister of Tourism Zoheir Garrana, the number of people visiting Egypt grew by more than 25 per cent in the fiscal year 2007-08. Garrana also explained that the number of nights tourists spent in Egypt and the amount of tourism revenue reaching the country each increased by 32 per cent this fiscal year. He said Egypt has not yet been affected by the slowdown in the European and US economies, thanks to attractive local packages. ORASCOM CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRIES (OCI): The regional construction and fertiliser giant posted a 220.2 per cent increase in its net income in the second quarter of 2008, to reach $239.5 million. The results exceeded by far the expectations of two of Egypt's leading investment banks. EFG- Hermes predicted a net income of $175.9 million, and Beltone Financial put the figure in the range of $190 million to $200 million. The increase was fed by a rise in construction activities in the Middle East and a higher global price of fertiliser. OCI's chairman told Reuters news agency that his company is about to conclude a five-year syndicated loan of $1 billion to be used for acquisitions, green field expansion and new product creation. On fertiliser operations, the company said in a statement the average selling price for its Egyptian productions rose 26 per cent from the first quarter to $515 per tonne of urea, thanks to an increase in demand in export markets. Meanwhile OCI's fertiliser production capacity is set to increase in the last quarter of 2008, when renovation works in a 700,000 tonne-per-year ammonia plant in Egypt and a 500,000 tonne-per-year plant in Nigeria end. OCI is also a shareholder in an Algerian two million tonne-per-year fertiliser plant, which is set to start operations by the end of 2010. ORASCOM TELECOM HOLDING (OTH): The international telecommunications giant is witnessing limited administrative changes, with Tamer El-Mahdy, OTH's chief technology officer since 2004, replacing Hassan Kabbani as Orascom Telecom Algeria's new CEO. El-Mahdy has been working in the telecommunications industry for the past 22 years, holding posts in a number of multinational firms including Lucent Technologies and AT&T. NAEEM HOLDING: The investment bank's board of directors' meeting last week approved a share buy-back scheme involving 4.9 per cent of the company's shares. It also gave the go-ahead to plans to sell Naeem for Financial Investments to a sister company to fully restructure it. The bank, which already has activities in Saudi Arabia and Dubai, is also opening a branch in Libya. OLYMPIC GROUP (OG): The Sallam family, which owns 52 per cent of OG, sold its stake to Paradise Capital Holding (PCH), which the family formed recently, in a bid to own all its shares under one entity. The purchase of the stake was made at the market price of LE49.25, which puts the deal value at LE1.54 billion. A senior official in the group said the step will simplify OG's ownership structure and give Sallam family members more flexibility to manage their investments, without affecting OG's shareholding structure. OG is planning to spin off its real estate subsidiary Namaa and home appliance retailer BTech in the following few months. EGYPTIAN COMPANY FOR MOBILE SERVICES (MOBINIL): The company joined the Saudi Zain's One network. One network allows Zain subscribers to make calls and send SMSs at local rates and receive calls free of charge when travelling in member countries. The service is automatically activated when Zain subscribers cross borders, with no need for pre-registration, extra fees or roaming deposits. Subscribers to Zain Saudi, which began operations in Saudi Arabia earlier this week, will be able to enjoy the benefits of its One Network service by using MobiNil's EMOB network in Egypt. The service is currently offered to Zain subscribers in Jordan, Bahrain, Iraq, Sudan and Saudi Arabia. TALAAT MUSTAFA GROUP (TMG): With rumours concerning the involvement of its chairman in a murder case subsiding, TMG started to give investors new reasons to rejoice. The company said it expects pre-sales in its existing real estate projects to reach LE15 billion by the end of 2008. This number puts the target at LE2.5 billion higher than it had been. On another front, company representatives said they are looking for a partner in Eastern Europe to help in TMG's planned expansion to this market. TMG has shortlisted several countries for new ventures, including Montenegro and Ukraine. Compiled by Sherine Abdel-Razek
