CAIRO: Egyptian stocks made slight gains on Monday, driven up by optimism over a deal by Telecom Egypt to increase its stake in Vodafone Egypt in a deal valued at 5.63 billion Egyptian pounds ($981.5 million). Telecom Egypt is one of the eye-catching stocks ... Ever since they announced they wanted to buy this stake in Vodafone, [the share price] has been going up. It gives them more credibility, said Yasser Hassanein of Dynamic Securities. The benchmark Hermes Index gained 0.6 percent to close at 57,440.85 points, and the well-watched CASE 30 index was 0.6 percent higher at 6,500.78 points. The broader CIBC-100 index also rose 0.6 percent to 263.25 points. Telecom Egypt said on Monday it had agreed on deals to increase its stake in Vodafone Egypt, one of two current mobile phone operators in the country, by nearly 23.5 percent, bringing its total stake to nearly 49 percent. Shares in Telecom Egypt, the country s only fixed-line operator, gained 3.1 percent to 15.66 pounds, while shares in Vodafone Egypt dipped 0.3 percent to 95 pounds. Meanwhile, shares in regional telecoms operator Orascom Telecom, which is the majority stakeholder in mobile operator Mobinil, dropped 1.5 percent to 322.10 pounds. Mobinil shares were down 0.6 percent at 165 pounds. The Telecom Egypt deal would be executed on Oct. 11, the firm said in a statement. It added that it would buy roughly 56.3 million Vodafone Egypt shares at 100 Egyptian pounds per share. British group Vodafone owns a majority stake of 50.1 percent, or all but a tiny fraction of the remaining shares in Vodafone Egypt. Shares in Sixth of October Development and Investment (SODIC) extended gains for a fourth consecutive trading session, rising 2.2 percent to 128 pounds. Traders said the stock was up on optimism over increased foreign interest in buying investment land in Egypt.
