CAIRO: Egypt’s main index continued to slip, falling 3.2 percent on the back of worries about euro zone debt and uncertainty about the fate of Orascom Telecom’s (OT) Algerian unit Djezzy.
OT, the Cairo-based international mobile operator, is in talks to sell Djezzy and other assets to South Africa’s MTN, but the deal has so far been stymied by Algerian resistance.
"Local sentiment has changed after the euphoria that started in the market because of the OT deal, which seems to be on hold for the time being," said Teymour El-Derini of Naeem Holding. Orascom Telecom shed 3.6 percent.
Liquidity in Arab markets has been decreasing on the back of the euro zone’s debt crisis and the euro falling to an 18-month low versus the US dollar on Friday, Derini said.
Traders say company earnings news this week could help Egypt’s index recover.
Orascom Construction dipped 4.2 percent and Commercial International Bank lost 3.8 percent.
Egypt’s index closed at 6,694 points.
