CAIRO: Egypt’s benchmark index slipped 0.7 percent as a rally in telecom shares triggered by a France Telecom deal to buy Mobinil shares lost some of its steam.
Mobinil had been rising by the maximum 10 percent allowed under exchange rules since France Telecom announced on Monday it was prepared to buy most of its outstanding shares at LE 202 ($33.47) each.
In Thursday’s session, Mobinil rose by only 3.1 percent to LE 172.02 and was the bourse’s most active stock.
"The government says it wants some more information about the deal and how it was priced, and some investors are concerned," said Hisham Metwalli of Arab Finance Brokerage, adding that he expects Mobinil to resume its climb once it answers the regulator’s queries in a few days.
Other telecom shares retreated. Orascom Telecom Media lost 3.4 percent, Orascom Telecom 3.2 percent and Telecom Egypt 1.9 percent.
The broader index climbed 0.4 percent, boosted by heavy local and Arab purchases of real estate stocks in the belief the government is moving to resolve disputes over their ownership of land, Metwalli said.
