[2008-05-06]  Egypt's Maridive jumps on debut, Cotton Ginning up
Investors snapped up shares of Egyptian oil support company Maridive & Oil Services on Monday, pushing it 49 percent above its public offering price in its trading debut while overall Egypt's market was flat.
Maridive sold shares at $3.52 each in an initial public offering last month. An earlier private offer was more than 30 times subscribed. The shares last traded on Monday at $5.25.
"A lot of institutions got a low allocation and they are trying to buy more now," said Mohamed Radwan, trader at Pharos Securities.
Overall, Egypt's benchmark Case 30 index, which has gained over 13 percent this year, rose 0.11 percent to 11,935.67 points. The well watched Hermes index dipped 0.10 percent to 103,212.7 points.
The broader CIBC index gained 0.7 percent to 582.27 points.
Shares of Arab Cotton Ginning, the day's most heavily traded stock by turnover, posted their sharpest single-day gain in almost a month, leading Egypt's textile sector higher.
Arab Cotton Ginning shares jumped 5.2 percent to 12.90 Egyptian pounds ($2.41). Arab Polavara rose 4 percent to 12.17 pounds and Alexandria Spinning and Weaving gained 8.9 percent to 4.52 pounds.
"These stocks are the laggards of the market," said Teymour el-Derini, trader at Beltone Financial. "They are catching up."
Arab Cotton Ginning had dropped more than 5 percent in the five sessions to Sunday. The Case 30 index had risen 0.82 percent in that time.
Shares of Egypt Kuwait Holding, which have surged more than 73 percent this year, gained 1.4 percent to $4.39. The company has holdings in energy, fertiliser and insurance and is also listed in Kuwait.
"With the price of oil and the new oil they are finding, it's clear that the price should go up," Derini said. "I expect it to rise to $5."
Gains in Kuwait's market, which crossed 15,000 points for the first time ever, have also boosted the stock, Derini said.
Source: © Guardian News and Media Limited 2008