Egypt index up, helped by solid results The Egyptian index benchmark inched up 0.2 percent to end at 7,019 points, helped by firms like EgyptKuwait Holding Co. which announced improved profits. Shares in EgyptKuwait Holding jump 5.2 percent after the company released better-than-expected 2009 figures. The market will curve higher ... after the good financial performance from different companies, says Sally Refaat of Cairo Capital Securities. Heading lower, Pioneers Holding dips 3 percent following news that a court had ruled against a subsidiary of the firm in a case involving share manipulation. Pioneers said it was contesting the ruling. - Reuters Egypt s Nasr City Housing 6-month net profit drops Egyptian developer Nasr City Housing posted a net profit of LE 42.9 million ($7.82 million) for the period July-December, down from LE 61.7 million a year earlier, it said on Monday. The figure implied a net profit of LE 17.9 million for the period October-December, based on Reuters calculations. That quarterly figure was below one analyst s forecast. Investment bank CI Capital had estimated a net profit of 30.8 million pounds for the three-month period. - Reuters Egypt signs $61 million contracts for Abu Qir power station Egypt's ministry of Electricity and Energy signed four contracts worth a total of LE 335 million ($61 million) to carry out work at its Abu Qir power station, state run news agency MENA reported. The station, which will cost about LE 9.3 billion ($1.7 billion) consists of two steam units with a total capacity of 1,300 MW. The OPEC Fund for International Development will lend Egypt $30 million for the project, while West Delta Electricity company, an affiliate to the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company, will raise separate funding. The Abu Qir plant is located on the Mediterranean Sea Coast approximately 25 kilometers east of the Alexandria city. Early this month the Egyptian government signed four new contracts worth about LE 200 million to link East Oweinat with the national electricity grid. The project will inaugurate new electricity cables with 220KV capacities from Toshka s electricity station to East Oweinat. Egypt's five year energy plan aims to add 9,200 MW to the country's national grid, set up transformer stations and extend power lines. By the year 2027, the government aims to add 58,000 MW by investing up to $120 billion in the electricity sector. - IntelliNews PACH records LE 85.6 consolidated net profit in 1H09/10 Pachin (PACH) announced its financial results for the first half of 2009/10, where it recorded a net consolidated profit of LE 85.6 million, compared to LE 49.9 million in first half of 2008/09, an increase of 71.6 percent year on year. The company also announced its standalone profit of LE 3.4 million compared to LE 3.3 million in the first half of 2008/09, a 3.1 percent year on year. - Egypt Stock Exchange MCQE posted 16 percent growth in 2009 Misr Cement (Qena) released its 2009 net profits revealing a year on year growth of 16.3 percent reaching LE 352.3 million (2.5 percent increase vs. CICRe of LE 361.4 million) up from LE 302.9 million in 2008. Although that MCQE's net results came in slightly below CI Capital estimates, CI said they are pleased with the growth exhibited in the bottom line figure. They are "confident in the top line growth and the improvement in the operating profits year on year, and reckon that they are the main factors behind the growth in the bottom line. - CI Capital PIOH sets a private equity fund to invest in food industries Pioneers Capital, a unit of Pioneers Holding (PIOH), will set a private equity fund to invest in food industries at $100 million. Fund establishing procedures will be completed soon while subscription will start in March, expecting to conclude acquisition deals in the second quarter of 2010. Pioneers Holding stake in the fund, which will be promoted in Gulf markets, will reach 20 percent. - Al Borsa Egyptian Minister of Investment leads delegation to Singapore to boost investor relations An Egyptian delegation led by Mahmoud Mohieldin, Minister of Investment is scheduled to head to Singapore on March 4 to showcase Egypt as a destination for institutional and direct investment in a half-day conference organized by Nextview Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based leading provider of real time trading tool solutions, investor education and financial conferences in Asia Pacific. This event is also co-hosted by DBS Bank and the Singapore Business Federation. The event is spearheaded by Egypt's CI Capital. The 2nd Egypt Day Investor Conference in Singapore will feature four Egyptian listed companies, all involved in four different sectors of the economy -- financial services, cables manufacturer, oil and gas, and carpets manufacturer. Out of the four companies, three are constituents of the Egyptian Exchange s EGX 30 Index, namely Maridive Oil & Services, El Sewedy Cables and Commercial International Bank. Other speakers will include Stephen Ho, Managing Director of DBS Bank, Maged Shawky, Chairman of the Egyptian Stock Exchange and Osama Saleh, Chairman of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones of Egypt. The conference aims to tighten investor links between Egypt and Singapore and other ASEAN countries through a range of issues such as the current state and trends of the Egyptian investment climate and economic plans, business framework and environment, direct investment and joint opportunities in Egypt and many more. - Al Bawaba
