Egypt indexes resume gains despite OCI dip Egypt s main stock index rebounded on Thursday, shrugging off losses from the previous session on positive sentiment in global markets, traders said. Shares in heavyweight Orascom Construction (OCI) bucked the trend, dipping 1.97 percent to LE 142 ($25.20), as the deadline for its share dividend expired, while construction firm Talaat Moustafa jumped 9.91 percent higher to LE 3.77 in heavy trade. Cairo-based investment bank Beltone Financial cut its fair value on OCI shares to LE 195.09 from LE 314 on Thursday, but called Egypt s largest listed builder and fertilizer maker a strong investment opportunity at its current price. The main triggers to our recommendation are an expected rebound in fertilizer prices and an estimated $3.5 billion in new project awards during 2009, Beltone said in a research note. The EGX30 has gained almost 15 percent since the close of trade last Thursday, and ended the session 1.88 percent higher at 4,245.74 points, but traders and analysts expressed skepticism the Egyptian rally could continue. Nihal Zaki, technical analyst at Prime Securities, said the index has become highly volatile and is due for a deep correction . It has been a long rally, relatively...it is not a safe market, it s very volatile, market makers have made their profits already and are about to exit, she said. Orascom Telecom gained 2.44 percent to 27.32 pounds in low volumes. Mohamed Tawfiq, head of international sales at Delta Rasmala Securities, said investors are looking ahead to first quarter results, particularly for export-dependant firms. Fundamentally, we are still waiting to see some figures . we are not really sure the extent of the damage that the financial crisis has had on local companies, Tawfiq said. The companies that are most affected are those that are exposed to global markets, he said. The Hermes index gained 2.86 percent to 403.59 points and the broader EGX70 added 2.93 percent to 526.99 points. - Reuters EFG-Hermes says buys back 900,000 own shares EFG-Hermes, Egypt s largest investment bank by market value, said on Thursday it bought back a quarter of the shares it had sought in a buyback program. The bank repurchased 900,000 out of 3.6 million treasury shares it had requested, it said on the stock exchange website. It purchased the shares between Feb. 22 and March 25 for between LE 12.39 ($2.21) and LE 12.76. By 1123 GMT, EFG shares had gained 2.97 percent to 15.80 pounds. - Reuters Olympic Group seeks 1 million of own shares Egyptian appliance maker Olympic Group plans to buy up to one million of its own shares in the month starting on Sunday, the stock exchange said on Thursday. The shares represent around 1.7 percent of the firm s listed equity. Only 10 percent of the firm s 60 million shares are traded on the stock exchange, according to Reuters data. At 1029 GMT, shares Olympic were trading 5.13 percent higher at LE 17.63 ($3.13). - Reuters BNP Paribas Egypt net profit up 176 pct The Egyptian arm of French bank BNP Paribas posted net profit of LE 255.4 million ($45.3 million) in 2008, a 176 percent increase on the previous year, the stock exchange said on Wednesday. Net profit in 2007 was LE 92.5 million, the bank said. The total value of the bank s assets was LE 14.5 billion at the end of December 2008, down from LE 19.7 billion at the end of 2007. The bank, which was established in 1975 as a subsidiary of the Paris-based BNP Paribas, has a market capitalization of LE 1.7 billion, according to the Egyptian stock exchange. - Reuters Average yield 10.519 pct on Egypt 4-day deposits The weighted average yield at a 4-day deposit auction was 10.519 percent, Egypt s central bank said on Wednesday. The bank had asked for LE 12 billion ($2.13 billion) and received bids worth LE 19.59 billion. It accepted bids worth LE 16.04 billion at rates between 10.51 percent and 10.53 percent. - Reuters Egypt activates agreements on nuclear program, says minister Minister of Electricity Hassan Younis said that Egypt s peaceful nuclear program has received international support. Younis added that several countries are willing to provide Egypt with the necessary technical know-how and train Egyptian cadres in nuclear safety measures. Younis has just wrapped up a series of meetings with officials in France, Russia, China and the European Union on the Egyptian nuclear program. He said he discussed with the director of the French nuclear agency nuclear cooperation between the two countries. He added that a paper on Egyptian needs, especially in the field of training and cadre building, has been prepared. The French side will discuss the paper to determine the scope of cooperation, he said. - Good News
