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(AFX UK Focus) 2009-05-27 09:11
UPDATE 1-Egypt regulator rejects France Telecom bid on Mobinil
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CAIRO, May 27 (Reuters) - Egypt's market regulator has rejected France Telecom's bid for the outstanding shares in Mobinil, the centre of a dispute with the other main shareholder Orascom Telecom, three traders said on Wednesday.
"The CMA has rejected (France Telecom's offer)," said Ashraf Akhnoukh, senior equities trader at CIBC Brokerage. "It means in the short term the stock (Orascom) gets hit. It's actually getting hit right now. Mobinil (faces) the same thing."
The traders said a statement from the Capital Markets Authority rejected the bid and allowed the resumption of trade in Mobinil and Orascom, which is locked in a dispute with FT over ownership of the Egyptian mobile firm.
The CMA could not immediately be reached for comment.
Shares in Mobinil, which had been suspended since May 19, dipped by more than 1 percent initially after the open, before steadying almost unchanged at 200.05 Egyptian pounds ($35.60).
Orascom shares, also on hold since May 19, slipped 1.12 percent to 35.31 pounds by 0755 GMT.
Orascom posted a 66 percent drop in net income after the close of trade on Tuesday, sharply lower than two analyst forecasts.
For a factbox on the dispute click here

($1 = 5.6226 Egyptian pounds)

(Reporting by Alastair Sharp) Keywords: MOBINIL/REGULATOR (alastair.sharp@reuters.com; Cairo newsroom +20 2 2578 3290)

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