Talaat Moustafa has $1.1 bln sales to JuneReuters reported that Talaat Moustafa Group said its sales so far this year were worth more than LE 6 billion ($1.1 billion) and it was on track to hit its full-year target of LE 12.5 billion.The company also said in a statement received on Tuesday it was considering offering global depositary receipts (GDRs) through Swiss bank UBS. The developer's annual sales target compares with LE 10.5 billion in 2007.In a statement to the stock exchange, the company said it also had actual sales of LE 21 billion not yet entered on its books and that these should produce net profit of LE 6 billion over the next three years.Egyptian developers do not include sales in their accounts until the buyers have taken delivery of the properties. -Agencies South Valley Cement agrees to capital raiseSouth Valley Cement, Egypt's largest cement firm by market value, agreed at a general assembly meeting to raise its paid-up and issued capital, according to minutes of the meeting released on Monday.The company agreed to raise its capital to LE 2.07 billion ($387 million) from LE 1.48 billion, according to the minutes. It said it may distribute free shares, but did not give further details. A company spokesman could not immediately give details.The company said in April its 2007 net profit more than doubled from the previous year. -Agencies IMC to support Nilex listing processThe Industrial Modernization Center (IMC) agreed to finance all costs associated with the listing process on the Nilex and to promote the benefits of joining the stock market to industrial companies, according to a statement on the stock exchange website.This step is meant to encourage mid and small cap companies to consider joining the stock market in raising funds for their businesses, as well as give impetus to the Nilex market as a new medium to raise money for those companies.The Nilex market is billed as a tool to support and develop the medium and small enterprises sector in Egypt. EFG-Hermes named 'Best Equity House'Investment bank EFG-Hermes was named the 'Best Equity House in Egypt' by the global business magazine Euromoney, which announced the winner at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2008 Middle East in Dubai last week, according to a press statement. At the gala event, Euromoney noted that EFG-Hermes acted as global coordinator and joint book-runner alongside HSBC in the $823 million IPO last November of real estate developer Talaat Mostafa, the largest equity listing in Egypt's history. The magazine added that EFG-Hermes' brokerage and research are renowned throughout the Middle East."Coming as it did just weeks after we made history for handling simultaneous IPOs, the award is a welcome recognition of our team's hard work and of the faith placed in us by our clients, said Karim Awad, EFG-Hermes' head of investment banking.In May 2008, EFG-Hermes became the first investment bank in the Middle East to close simultaneous IPOs as it brought Egypt's Palm Hills Development and Maridive & Oil Services to market. The firm was sole global coordinator and book runner for the $273 million Maridive offering (which closed nearly 30 times oversubscribed) and shared duties with Goldman Sachs on the $343 million Palm Hills transaction (approximately 17 times oversubscribed). Eye on the market Orascom Telecom Holding (OTH) announced yesterday that the company had cancelled 61.9 million shares, equivalent to 12.38 million global depositary receipts (GDR). The cancellation of the shares was approved by OT's previous extraordinary general assembly meeting held on Feb. 24. OT's issued capital has now reached 1.028 billion shares, or 205.62 million GDRs, post this cancellation, down 5.6 percent from 1.09 billion shares. Cairo Housing will increase its capital by LE 412.5 million through a rights issue. The total number of shares will increase by 75 million to a total of 93,750,000 shares at a subscription price of LE 5 in addition to 5 piasters as issuance fees. Subscription starts on July 7 until Aug. 6 for shareholders as of July 6. Remco for Touristic Villages Construction is currently negotiating the acquisition of Scandinavia Lakah's assets (a company which is partially owned by Rami Lakah). According to an article by Al-Mal newspaper, this should help settle the debt owed by Scandinavia Lakah to five banks, which amounts to $25.5 million.In its daily market report, Beltone Financial reported that the Ministry of Petroleum has not yet issued the executive decree allowing the Holding Company for Natural Gas to formally address companies extending natural gas to the industrial sector to raise the price of natural gas from $1.8/mBTU to $2.8/mBTU according to Law No. 114 issued on May 5, reported Al-Mal newspaper. The delay will impede the generation of higher revenues for the government, expected to reach LE 1.2 billion at least, resulting from the hike in the price of natural gas, added the newspaper. An official at the MOP indicated the executive decree will be issued soon, possibly with an effective date coinciding with the start of FY2008/2009. Sudan calls on Egypt for more securitySudan's national defense minister contacted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak asking for a greater Egyptian security presence in Sudan. Abdel-Rahim Mohammed Hussein, Sudan's national defense minister, relayed a message Sunday from Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir calling on Mubarak to deploy a larger contingent of Egyptian police units in Sudan's volatile Darfur region as part of the joint African Union and UN operation, the Egyptian government reported. -UPI
