Egypt's bourse tumbles on Sawaris travel ban; most Gulf markets slip

Egypt's bourse suffered its biggest one-day loss in three months on Monday after the chief executive of its largest listed firm was banned from leaving the country on charges of tax evasion - a fresh blow to business confidence in the country. The public prosecutor ordered that Nassef Sawiris, chief executive of Orascom Construction Industries, and his father Onsi Sawiris be barred from travel, state news agency MENA reported late on Sunday.
The order was part of an investigation into accusations they evaded about 14 billion Egyptian pounds ($2.1 billion) of taxes during the sale of Orascom Building, an OCI subsidiary, to French firm Lafarge, it said. A banker and friend of the family told Reuters that the men were out of the country. In a statement to the bourse on Monday, OCI said that beyond a previous request by the Egyptian Tax Authority for the company to pay 4.7 billion pounds related to the Lafarge deal, which it had appealed, it had not received any additional claims from the government.
Shares in OCI sank 3.6 percent to 250 Egyptian pounds as investors feared legal problems would put its buyout offer from Dutch-listed subsidiary OCI NV in jeopardy. All except two stocks fell in Cairo's main index. The index retreated 2.3 percent to 5,375 points in its heaviest one-day loss since December 6; it reached a nine-week low.
The index's break below major support on the late January low of 5,489 points was technically bearish, triggering a double top formed by the January and February highs; the pattern points down to around 5,200 points in coming weeks. In Saudi Arabia, banks led declines as investor sentiment continued to weigh on the sector in the wake of last month's fourth-quarter earnings, which mostly showed weak growth. Al Rajhi Bank and Samba Financial Group each slipped 1.1 percent.
The kingdom's benchmark dropped 0.5 percent to its lowest close since January 2. Elsewhere, United Arab Emirates markets declined with property-related stocks the main drag. Dubai builder Arabtec plunged 10 percent to a 13-month low of 2.17 dirhams as investors dumped the stock ahead of a planned capital increase that will be dilutive to shareholders. The stock has fallen 27 percent in three sessions since the company announced plans to raise $1.8 billion in capital. Dubai's benchmark retreated 1.9 percent to a two-week low. Abu Dhabi's index slipped 0.3 percent, down for a third consecutive session since Wednesday's 40-month peak.