Egypt's Beltone decides 5-to-1 share split

The board of Egyptian investment bank Beltone Financial agreed to a five-to-one share split on Monday to boost trading of its shares and increase its investor base, the company's investor relations manager told Reuters.

Last week Beltone said that, together with a group of investors, it was seeking a 20 percent stake in investment bank EFG Hermes in a $257 million deal. Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris is backing the deal, sources said.

Beltone's shares were up almost 10 percent at the close on Monday to trade at 30.11 Egyptian pounds ($4.21).

The share price has shot up by more than 82 percent this year. At its highest, at 33.37 pounds in April, it had more than doubled in 2014.