EGX 30 Falls Below 5260Pts Amid Sawiris Travel Ban Repercussions; Midday

The Egyptian Exchange has incurred midday losses of EGP 4.9 billion on Tuesday driven by foreign selling pressures amid the travel ban decree issued against Orascom Construction Industries’ officials. The capital market has amounted to EGP 362.226 billion, according to data compiled by Amwal Al Ghad at 12.25 p.m. Cairo time (10:25 GMT) during Tuesday’s midday session. A number of money market experts said the travel ban decree is the fresh blow to the business confidence in the Egyptian market. Some other experts described the decree as a contradictory signal while the Egyptian government is seeking to reconcile with the businessmen and investors to continue their operations in the country, a recent decree to ban the CEOs of the most major and powerful firms in the market from leaving the country.

The EGX indices were in red notes during the midday session.

Benchmark EGX30 pushed down by 2.20% to 5256.9 p; while EGX20 dropped by 1.77% to 6191.55 p.

Meanwhile, the mid- and small-cap index, the EGX70 tumbled by 1.15 % to 451.48 p.  Price index EGX100 dipped by 1.32% to 761.72 p.

This was after trading in 145 listed securities; 104 declined, 13 advanced; while 28 keeping their previous levels.

During Tuesday’s midday session, the trading volume has reached 46.788 million securities worth EGP 103.527 million, exchanged 7.854 thousand transactions.

EGX midday losses were driven by non-Arab foreign and Arab selling pressures as they were net sellers 12.63% and 7.27% respectively, of the total markets, with a net equity of EGP 4.271 million and EGP 1.059 million excluding the deals.

Meanwhile, Egyptians were net buyers seizing 80.11% of the total markets, with a net equity of EGP 5.331 million excluding the deals.

For the leading EGX-listed firms’ stocks, Orascom Construction Industries – OCI (OCIC.CA)’s stock dived by 2.42% to EGP 246.00 amid the Egyptian prosecutor-general has issued an order to place a travel ban on Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) (OCIC.CA) founder Onsi Sawiris and its CEO Nassef Sawiris, an official judicial source told state-owned news agency MENA on Sunday.

According to the source, this move by the prosecution is part of an ongoing investigations of the two businessmen on charges of tax evasion in the sale of OCI’s cement unit Orascom Building Materials Holding to French cement Lafarge in 2008 for $15 billion.

Orascom Telecom Holding SAE (ORTE.CA)’s stock inched down by 3.03% to EGP 4.15.

Egyptian Financial Group-Hermes Holding (HRHO.CA)’s stock dipped by 2.07% to EGP 10.89.

Orascom Telecom Media And Technology Holding SAE (OTMT.CA) fell by 1.41% to EGP 0.70.