Heavyweight Orascom Construction Industries gained 2.6 percent after a choppy session on unconfirmed news reports it would soon resolve a tax dispute with the government.
Various news reports have said OCI offered to pay an amount of about LE7 billion to settle the case.
Egyptian authorities have been investigating charges the company failed to pay some LE14 billion in taxes on the sale of Orascom Building, an OCI subsidiary, to French firm Lafarge.
OCI said in a statement to the exchange that talks with the tax authority were ongoing and it hoped to reveal details at the earliest opportunity.
“OCI will meet with the head of the authority this week to seek solutions,” an official at the Egyptian Tax Authority told Reuters Sunday, adding that negotiations are ongoing with OCI.
Orascom Telecom rose after a newspaper report said Algeria’s government would lift sanctions on the operator’s unit Djezzy, while Cairo’s stock market held steady near technical support levels in muted trade.
Sanctions on Djezzy that prohibit the company from making payments in foreign currency and importing equipment will be lifted, according to a report in Algerian newspaper Al-Fadjr.
OT said in a statement that “it has not been informed of any fundamental developments regarding this matter,” referring to the news report. Shares in the telecom operator rose 2.9 percent.
Cairo’s benchmark advanced 0.6 percent, extending gains from a 14-week low.
