Egypt index retreats, led by OT and PioneersEgypt's benchmark index closed down 2.1 percent on low volume as Pioneers Holding dropped 5.6 percent and heavyweights Orascom Telecom (OT) 5.3 percent. On Sunday, Pioneers shareholders approved its takeover of Beltone Financial, and the company's board approved a LE 0.05 per share dividend, bringing total dividends for 2009 to LE 0.35. Last week France Telecom and OT reached agreement to end a protracted battle over control of Mobinil, Egypt's largest mobile operator by subscribers. Traders said the market dip follows last week's rally and expect the index to pick up in Monday's session. "Egypt's has been best performing market in the region and the market is up almost 20 percent to date from the beginning of the year, said Mohamed Radwan of Pharos Securities. "So it is justified to see a sell off and to see the market go down, he added."We expect the market to bounce tomorrow, Teymour El-Derini from Naeem Brokerage said. Mobinil fell 4.8 percent after France Telecom's plan to purchase outstanding shares in the mobile company was scrapped under the deal with OT. Egypt's benchmark closed at 7,417 points. -Reuters Nasr City receives 5.5 mln sq meter plotEgyptian developer Nasr City Housing said on Sunday it had received a 1,339 feddan (5.5 million square meter) plot of land on the outskirts of Cairo after settling a dispute with Egypt's army.The Egyptian army had refused to hand over the plot until someone paid to move a shooting range on the property. "The land was assigned to the company by a republican decree, said Gomaa Abdel Wahab, head of finance at the formerly state-run company.He said usage of the land, located on the Egypt-Suez desert road, had not yet been determined. Nasr City Housing posted a net profit of LE 42.9 million ($7.86 million) for the period July-December, down from LE 61.7 million a year earlier. -Reuters Shareholders of Pioneers approve takeoverShareholders of Egypt's Pioneers Holding and Beltone Financial approved a plan for Pioneers to take over Beltone, the two companies said in statements released by the stock exchange on Sunday. Pioneers's board of directors also approved a LE 0.05 ($0.01) per share dividend, bringing the company's total dividend for 2009 to LE 0.35, Pioneers said. "The extraordinary general assembly approved the steps taken to acquire Beltone Financial, a Pioneers statement said. Beltone shareholders also approved the takeover, Beltone said in a separate statement. Under a merger agreement concluded in March, the new firm will be called Beltone Holding, and Beltone's chief executive, Aladdin Saba, will be its managing director, Saba said at the time. He expected to deal to be completed by the end of May. Under the all-share merger, first announced in November, Pioneers will issue 100 million new shares for Beltone's shares, giving Beltone's owners a stake of about 17 percent in the merged firm. -Reuters HP acquires 3Com Corporation for $2.7 blnHP announced Sunday that it has completed its acquisition of 3Com Corporation at a price of $7.90 per share for a total of approximately $2.7 billion, according to a statement from its Egypt office.HP will integrate 3Com's network switching, routing and security solutions with its existing HP ProCurve solutions, the statement read. "The acquisition of 3Com expands HP's Ethernet switching offerings and adds routing solutions .3Com also brings to HP network security capabilities through its TippingPoint portfolio, the statement read. Palm Hills expects Q1 2010 to beat Q1 2009Egyptian real estate developer Palm Hills Developments expects to report stronger results for the first quarter of 2010 than one year ago, the company's chief portfolio officer said on Sunday."I think definitely, yes, the results will be better on deliveries, sales and very strong brand equity, Khaled Sedky told Reuters on the sidelines of a property conference.Egypt's real estate sector, while not immune to the financial crisis, has fared relatively well compared with other regional economies, thanks to strong local demand and its insulation from international credit markets.Palm Hills, which builds mostly in Egypt's luxury segment, has said it is trying to build cheaper homes, expand into hotel and retail property ownership and accelerate construction to take advantage of cheaper building materials."We are widening our range of products to include middle to middle upper classes, Khedky said, adding that Palm has 12-14 hotels in the pipeline for development on the coast in Egypt.The firm, which already owns land in Saudi Arabia, is also looking to expand in the Gulf Arab region, North Africa and southern Africa, he said.Earlier in April, the company said shareholders bought about 99 percent of the shares on offer in a LE 699 million rights issue.In March it said it had received approval to buy a majority stake in a hotels holding company. -Reuters Amending executive regulations for capital marketThe Minister of Investment announced new amendments in the executive regulations for the capital market law, concerning regulating issuing bonds on installments by which the installment will not exceed one year from the date of approval by the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority for the entire issuance. -Al-Alam Al-Youm
