(DNE File / Mohamed Omar)
Egypt’s benchmark index EGX 30 defied mounting concerns about upcoming protests on 30 June, closing on Wednesday with a 2.36% rise spurred by a surge in the shares of Orascom Construction Industries.
The index, which has lost 15% since the beginning of the year, closed at 4,641.08 points on Wednesday, while OCI’s shares recorded a 10% surge to EGP 238.09, its biggest gain in years.
The rise “was entirely led by the OCI offer,” said Wael Zeyada, head of research at EFG-Hermes. He added that the “stock market has been going down and sideways” in the past period.
On Tuesday the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority gave its regulatory approval to Orascom’s parent company OCI NV to buy 100% of the Egyptian construction enterprise at EGP 255 per share. Shareholders of OCI who are interested will be able to subscribe to the offer at the share price from Thursday until 28 July.
“It’s impossible to predict” the index’s performance tomorrow, said Zeyada.
The index, resembling the 30 blue-chips in the stock exchange, has been in a limbo for at least a month as the country gears up for wide protests as opponents of President Mohamed Morsi seek to overthrow him a year after he came to power.
