CAIRO: Egyptian shares gained on Wednesday with investment bank Naeem Holding soaring 88 percent after the firm listed 60 percent of its shares on the stock exchange at a par value of $1 per share, traders said.
This stock is seen as a good investment. The investment banking story in the region is a good story … and Naeem is well-positioned in Saudi Arabia, said Mohamed Kotb of Jazira Asset Management.
Shares in Naeem jumped 88 percent to close at $1.88 on the first day of trade after the company said it would publicly list 240 million shares. Naeem also said it planned to aggressively expand its operations across the region.
Naeem Holding describes itself as an investment bank with brokerage, portfolio and fund management. It also has private equity and corporate finance operations in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Overall, the benchmark Hermes index gained 1.5 percent to end at 57,723.94 points while the well-watched Case 30 index rose 1.8 percent to 6,531.85. The broader CIBC-100 index was 0.1 percent higher at 280.76 points.
The telecoms sector also rose, with Orascom Telecom gaining 3.1 percent to end at LE 325 ($56.82) after Morgan Stanley raised the price target for its global depository receipt shares to $69 from $65.50.
Morgan Stanley kept its overweight rating on the stock, and said it expected continued earnings momentum to be the catalyst to take the share price higher.
Telecoms operator Mobinil, a subsidiary of Orascom Telecom, was also higher, rising 6.2 percent to LE 175. Shares in telecoms firm Raya Holding were 2.9 percent up at 13.33 pounds.
State-run Telecom Egypt followed the sector to gain 1.1 percent to LE 15.21. Orascom Hotels and Development, which said this week it was seeking to buy Medinet Nasr Housing to restructure and sell it as a short-term investment, also gained.
The share rose 2.5 percent to end at LE 40.33 while shares in Medinet Nasr Housing were flat at LE 86 pounds.
