Political uncertainty is threatening to weigh on Egypt's stock market this week.
Trading has slowed since the Muslim Brotherhood's decision to push one of its senior leaders, Khairat Al Shater, for the presidency, reversing an earlier pledge to stay out of the race.
The EGX 30 Index has rallied as much as 51 per cent this year amid expectations that the worst was over as the country made steps towards political development more than a year after the revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak from the presidency.
"If we have some bad news from the political arena, it could definitely impact the market," said Sebastien Henin, a portfolio manager at The National Investor in Abu Dhabi. "Economic figures are also not very good, with less than three months of foreign reserves to cover imports, reaching dangerous levels."
A US$3.2 billion IMF loan needed to overcome a staggering economy became the subject of political haggling last week between the Muslim Brotherhood and the country's interim military rulers. The loan may now be delayed until June.
Egypt needs $11bn of financing in two years, the finance minister, Momtaz El Saieed, has said.
"The deal is not done, and we know it's not big enough," Mr Henin said. "On top of the economic and political situation, there are uncertainties as well at the corporate level."
News reports quoted Algeria's finance minister as saying that negotiations with Orascom Telecom's parent company, Vimplecom, could take "months" because of a price disagreement for a 51 per cent stake in the Algerian mobile phone subsidiary Djezzy.
Orascom Telecom shares fell 7 per cent on Wednesday and 4 per cent on Thursday, closing at 3.40 Egyptian pounds. The EGX 30 Index fell 0.2 per cent in the same period, closing at 4,827.02.
"OT has been dragging the whole market with it," said Wafik Dawood, the head of institutional sales at Mega Investments Securities in Cairo. "OT's 96 per cent rise this year was mainly driven by speculation that the Algerian conflict is coming to an end and that as soon as the valuation is out, the deal will go through. But now we are back to square one."
Several companies are expected to pay dividends this week.
Ahli United Bank has announced that on Wednesday it will issue to investors three shares for every one they hold.
National Société Générale Bank said it would pay a cash dividend of 1.25 Egyptian pounds per share on Wednesday.
Telecom Egypt, which has a monopoly in fixed-line telephone services in the country, has announced it will pay shareholders 1.10 pounds per share on Wednesday.
Global markets this week will have to grapple with US job numbers that were released on Friday and fell short of expectations. Only 120,000 jobs were added last month, far below the estimate of 203,000 jobs. US and European financial markets were closed on Friday to observe Easter.
The S&P 500 futures fell 1.2 per cent to 1,374, suggesting a weak opening tomorrow, Reuters reported. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 1.1 per cent to 2,722.50. Dow futures dropped 1.1 per cent to 12,841.
UAE stock markets finished lower last week. The Dubai Financial Market General Index was down 0.9 per cent to 1,686.50 on Thursday. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index slipped 0.1 per cent to 2,558.98.
Elsewhere in the region, Kuwait's measure fell 0.2 per cent to 6,145.50, Bahrain's was little changed at 1,141.25, Oman's MSM 30 Index closed 0.3 per cent higher at 5,827.19, and Qatar's QE Index slipped 0.2 per cent to 8,825.18. The Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index closed down 0.42 per cent at 7,862.51 yesterday.
halsayegh@thenational.ae
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The specs
Engine: 2.5-litre, turbocharged 5-cylinder
Transmission: seven-speed auto
Power: 400hp
Torque: 500Nm
Price: Dh300,000 (estimate)
On sale: 2022
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
MO
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreators%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Amer%2C%20Ramy%20Youssef%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Amer%2C%20Teresa%20Ruiz%2C%20Omar%20Elba%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Fines for littering
In Dubai:
Dh200 for littering or spitting in the Dubai Metro
Dh500 for throwing cigarette butts or chewing gum on the floor, or littering from a vehicle.
Dh1,000 for littering on a beach, spitting in public places, throwing a cigarette butt from a vehicle
In Sharjah and other emirates
Dh500 for littering - including cigarette butts and chewing gum - in public places and beaches in Sharjah
Dh2,000 for littering in Sharjah deserts
Dh500 for littering from a vehicle in Ras Al Khaimah
Dh1,000 for littering from a car in Abu Dhabi
Dh1,000 to Dh100,000 for dumping waste in residential or public areas in Al Ain
Dh10,000 for littering at Ajman's beaches
Company%20Profile
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SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SERIES%208
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Results:
Men's 100m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 15 sec; 2. Rheed McCracken (AUS) 15.40; 3. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 15.75. Men's 400m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 50.56; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 50.94; 3. Henry Manni (FIN) 52.24.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Overview
Cricket World Cup League Two: Nepal, Oman, United States tri-series, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu
Fixtures
Wednesday February 5, Oman v Nepal
Thursday, February 6, Oman v United States
Saturday, February 8, United States v Nepal
Sunday, February 9, Oman v Nepal
Tuesday, February 11, Oman v United States
Wednesday, February 12, United States v Nepal
