Orascom Construction Rises to Week-High After Saudi Contract Win

Orascom Construction Industries (OCIC), Egypt’s biggest publicly traded builder, headed for the highest close in a week after its Saudi Arabian unit won a contract to build a sports development in the kingdom.

The shares of the Cairo-based company rose 1.7 percent to 235.79 Egyptian pounds at 11:04 a.m. in Cairo, poised for the highest close in a week. That gave the company a market value of 48.8 billion pounds ($8.2 billion). Egypt’s benchmark EGX 30 Index (EGX30) increased 1.7 percent.

A joint venture between Orascom Construction’s BESIX Group and Al-Muhaidib Contracting Co. won a 380 million-euro ($519 million) contract to design and construct King Abdullah Sports City near Jeddah, Orascom said today.

Separately, the company said yesterday it would pay a $1.1 dividend per share on Oct. 5 for shareholders as of Oct. 2.