CAIRO: Egypt’s main index inched higher, buoyed by gains in Orascom Telecom (OT) after Russia’s Vimpelcom, which bought a controlling stake in the firm in March, released results that reassured investors in Egypt, a trader said.
Traders also cited a report in an Algerian newspaper suggesting OT would have a strong case if it sought international arbitration over Djezzy, its Algerian unit over which it has had a long-standing row with Algeria.
The index closed up 0.6 percent to 4,755 points.
"The market has been see-sawing with very little turnover," said Osama Mourad of Arab Finance Brokerage. "We’re still in Ramadan mood due to the absence of any kind of impacting news and the foggy political situation."
OT, which is the bourse’s most heavily traded stock, jumped 4.9 percent.
"(Vimpelcom’s) results show the impact of the merger, which means that the merger actually happened or financially happened … so people are moving towards the deal price, whatever it is in their perception," said Mourad.
Vimpelcom said on Wednesday that its own second quarter net profit fell 29 percent due to higher interest and depreciation costs following its acquisition of Wind Telecom, the parent company of OT.
Commercial International Bank shed 0.8 percent.
