Egypt’s food company Juhayna appoints acting chairman after arrest of Safwan Thabet

Board of directors at Juhayna Food Industries has appointed Seif El Din Thabet as acting chairman, the company said in a statement on Thursday a day after its chairman Safwan Thabet was arrested.

The company, one of Egypt’s largest dairy products and juices producers, noted on Wednesday that it did not know the reason for Chairman Safwan’s arrest.

Juhayna’s shares were at 6.55 Egyptian pounds ($0.4174) at early trade at 08:23 GMT on Thursday, up 1.6 percent after tumbling about 7 percent following the news of the arrest.

Two security sources told Reuters on Wednesday that Safwan was detained for alleged “financial irregularities”. The Egyptian Interior Ministry has not commented on these claims.