CAIRO: Shares edged down on Monday led by Al Watany Bank, which said it had not received any specific monetary bids from Arab and international banks for a controlling stake, traders said. The bank s shares fell 2.9 percent to LE 46.27 in the session, a day after shares soared 9.3 percent on speculation that a potential buyout could go through at a premium to the market price. Every single person (in the market) has made money on Watany, so that s why it has fallen today - it s healthy profit-taking, Ahmed El Hifnauy of EFG-Hermes brokerage said. Watany Bank had said on March 11 that an unspecified number of regional banks were seeking a controlling sake, and traders said the market since then been expecting a definite bid offer. The share fell as people may have thought the finalization of the deal would be soon, but there may be some more time before there is a firm bid, as due diligence is still being done, said Mohamed Kotb of Jazira Asset Management. Other stocks leading some of Egypt s indexes down included market heavyweights Orascom Telecom (OT) and Orascom Construction Industries (OCI), which traders said were being adversely affected by recent sell-offs in global markets. OT and OCI are world-related stocks, affected by the international markets and lack of demand, Hifnauy said. For OT in particular, the market is waiting for it to retreat down lower before buying it again. OT closed down 0.4 percent to LE 379.20, two days after it was disqualified from a bid for a third mobile phone license in Saudi Arabia. OCI closed down 1.9 percent to LE 280 pounds. Overall, the benchmark Hermes index closed 0.6 percent lower at 62,911.78 points, while the widely watched Case 30 index slipped 0.3 percent to 7,177.34 points.
