Shares in Egyptian telecommunications giant Orascom Telecom (OT) declined sharply on Wednesday, dragging the entire Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange (CASE) down with them. The fall in OT share prices comes on the heels of a recent decision by the Algerian Tax Authority to tax OT’s Algeria operations by some $597 million.
The CASE’s flagship EGX 30 index fell by 3.12 percent, or 201 points, to close the day at 6268 points. OT, Orascom Construction Industries, the Hermes Group and Commercial International Bank (CIB) were among the biggest losers, shares of which all fell by between 1 and 9 per cent out of a total daily market loss of almost 6 per cent.
Overall, 135 company shares lost value vs. 32 gainers, with purchases by local investors failing to match concurrent sales by foreign and Arab investors. Total trades for the day amounted to LE800 million.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
