By Reuters
CAIRO: Egypt’s Orascom Telecom jumped 9.9 percent at the opening on Thursday, extending the previous day’s gains when an Algerian finance ministry source said the government would pay $6.5 billion for a majority stake in its Djezzy unit.
The increase prompted the stock market to suspend trade on OT shares.
Resolution of a long-running dispute over Djezzy would lift a cloud that has hung for years over OT, a heavyweight on Egypt’s bourse, and could bring more funds flowing into the country’s entire equity market.
Analysts said the Algerian finance ministry source’s implied valuation of Djezzy was far above their expectations.
