Experts connect Egypt PM gaffe with stocks fall

Egypt stocks sank into the red Wednesday for the fourth trading session in row, with analysts putting blame partially on several “ill-fated” statements of the country’s interim premier, Hazem El-Beblawi.
The market’s benchmark EGX30 fell 0.6 percent, recording 6,205 points, whilst the broader EGX70 index shed 0.5 percent.

“The strange statements that came from El-Beblawi on several occasions coincided with daily incidents, affecting trading over the week,” Eissa Fathi, vice head of the securities division at Cairo Chamber of Commerce, told Ahram Online.

“So, the prime minister is somewhat responsible for the stocks’ bearish trend in the last sessions.”

Fathi went on to point out the most influential statements made by El-Beblawi, starting with his interview with AFP Sunday when he revealed the governmental plan to phase out energy subsidies before leaving office in 2014.

On Monday, El-Beblawi tried to bolster an optimistic sentiment among investors, saying: “Who is the donkey that will buy high-price shares unless they are sure that there will be a better future for the Egyptian bourse?” Many misunderstood him.

According to Ashraf Abdel-Aziz, head of institutional sales at Arabeya Online Securities, El-Beblawi was meaning that investments in Egypt are recovering, citing investors’ purchases in the bourse, but that he misused the word “donkey.”