Hussein Abdel Halim

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  www.businesstodayegypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=4375 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 2/1/2005    Last Visited: 9/28/2008  

  "Most companies are public-sector owned, whether directly or indirectly, i.e. some companies will say they have been privatized, when in reality they have been sold to government banks and government insurance companies," says Hussein Abdel Halim, head of research at Sigma Capital.

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  www.egypttoday.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=5247 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 6/1/2005    Last Visited: 8/3/2008  

  At Sigma Securities, Head of Research Hussein Abdel Halim begs to differ when it comes to small investors running to managers.

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  AmCham Egypt - Publications - Business monthly -... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 9/1/2004    Last Visited: 10/2/2004  

  Hussein Abdel Halim, head of research at Sigma Capital brokerage house, commented on TE's decision to offer its entire issue in local currency, saying, "I think it's the correct decision, because, probably, about 90 or 95 percent of TE's revenues are in Egyptian pounds."He added, "Even if you are importing with hard currency, because your revenue stream is in Egyptian pounds you don't want your exposure to be in anything else."In contrast, OTH's revenue and exposure are in hard currency - "That's why they're doing a portion in foreign currency," he said.

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  AmCham Egypt - Publications - Business monthly -... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 9/1/2004    Last Visited: 10/2/2004  

  "The lack of security reduces the number of subscribers," said Hussein Abdel-Halim, head of research at local brokerage house Sigma Capital."So access to the network is reduced."If there isn't access in certain areas, OT stands to lose its potential customers there, Abdel-Halim pointed out.He also noted that the violence - or the perpetual threat thereof - not only affects business, but also personally affects company employees.
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  But they actually make more money when there's fighting in the places they need to go," said Abdel-Halim.

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  Business Today - About Us - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 6/6/2002    Last Visited: 6/6/2002  

  Hussein Abdel-Halim, head of research at Sigma Securities, says that many observers felt the $454 million (LE 2.11 billion) price tag for the Tunisia license was too high.Initially, analysts and the Tunisian government alike had concerns over whether or not OT could come up with the cash.And now that the cash has been produced, Abdel-Halim says OT will likely not see any profits in Tunisia for two more years.
  
  But he sees reason to be optimistic."The fact that they came up with the money is a big positive," he says.He says the OT operation in Pakistan could prove to be a big earner once the political situation on the Indian subcontinent is stabilized.OT's strategy of selling Telecel's assets piecemeal may also prove to be a smart move, helping the company to get the best possible price for each individual operation.
  
  In the long term, OT is banking on development in the MENA and South Asia regions -- "not a long shot in the long term," Abdel-Halim says.If the company is serious about its intent to concentrate on generating cash flow, Abdel-Halim adds that OT could benefit significantly from economies of scale and its experience in a broad range of regional markets.
  
  Plunging headlong into expansion, especially with regards to Telecel, may have opened up OT to losses in the short term, but the strategy has also won the company great opportunities in the long term.Realizing that potential is going to require renewed focus on running companies, not just buying them. bt

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  Business Today - About Us - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 6/6/2002    Last Visited: 6/6/2002  

  Hussein Abdel Halim, the head of research at Sigma Capital, is among those who claim the CASE's suddenly strict enforcement of suspensions could harm the little guy more than the violators.
  
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  Hussein Abdel Halim, head of research for Sigma Capital, says the suspension cannot be reversed soon enough.
  
  "Right now, Sinai Cement is one of the most actively traded companies.Suspending it so suddenly means bad news for our clients because their money is basically suspended.They can't buy new stocks and they can't sell the ones they have right now," he says, noting market fears that the stock's price will plunge when trading is allowed to resume.
  
  The Cabinet provided no public rationale for the move, but for national strategic reasons, regulations for companies working in North and South Sinai tend to be stricter than the rest of the country.Foreign investment in any company in Sinai, for example, cannot exceed 49%.No similar regulation exists elsewhere in the nation.
  
  You Want Me To Export Where?

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  Business Today Egypt - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 5/10/2004    Last Visited: 5/10/2004  

  Hussein Abdel-Halim, head of research at Sigma Capital, worries that investors are not only simply getting bored as a consequence, but will inevitably seek other markets to meet their investment needs.

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  Business Today Egypt August2003 - News Focus - Hoax... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 8/1/2003    Last Visited: 8/7/2003  

  "It might have been nothing more than a hoax aimed at increasing the value of the bid from the Irish company CRH," explains Hussein Abdel-Halim, head of research at Sigma Capital."There's no indication that any of the members of the board of directors of the company were involved in the writing or sending of this letter.The majority of the people believe that this was just an attempt by someone to move along negotiations between MBSC and CRH."
  
  CRH had indicated an interest in acquiring shares in Egypt's newest cement factory, but according to Abdel-Halim, the Irish company had been dragging its heels in the negotiation phase for several months.
  
  "Someone probably believed that if there was another bid, then that might speed up the negotiations [with CRH].But what ended up happening was that the company was publicly embarrassed by news of the letter because it made them look like they were not following the rules of the CMA and the CASE," he says.

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  Business Today Egypt December2003 - Sector Survey -... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 12/1/2003    Last Visited: 1/23/2004  

  Daily turnover now hovers at about LE 60 million a day, according to Hussein Abdel-Halim, head of research at Sigma Capital and Business Today stock market columnist.
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  Like many of his counterparts, Abdel-Halim has been surprised by the performance of the market."We were expecting the market to go up strongly," he says."But not as strongly as it has performed."
  
  Slowly, the stock market is reclaiming its reputation as a moneymaker.But it's far from the glory days.
  
  Bourse activity peaked in the late 1990s, when trading turnover reach as high as LE 400 million a day and averaged about LE 250 million a day, Abdel-Halim says.As a result of the devaluation of the pound, Abdel-Halim points out that in dollar terms turnover has fallen from highs of about
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  Abdel-Halim of Sigma has been surprised by the performance of the CASE.
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  In terms of size, Egypt's market ranks second in Africa behind South Africa and trails some of the Gulf States in the Middle East, according to Abdel-Halim.Egypt's market capitalization as a percentage of GDP is about 30 percent, but active stocks account for as little as 10 percent of GDP, he says.
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  Abdel-Halim says the failure of the government to let the pound truly float has resulted in more than a dearth of dollars.It's another instance, he says, of government fickleness.
  
  "It definitely has repelled a lot of investors and it has affected confidence in Egypt's ability to stick to declared policies," says Abdel-Halim.
  
  The government has also set an ambivalent policy, he says, with interest rates.Rates are not low enough to stimulate growth or high enough to ease the demand for dollars relative to pounds.The government's policy to borrow money from local banks, a long-held policy seen as a way to reduce the carefully observed levels of foreign debt, has also crowded out private companies' access to loans, he says.
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  But IPOs have all but dried since shares of Orascom Telecom were offered in 2000, says Abdel-Halim.
  
  He sees the resumption of privatization as a vital way to attract more interest in the market."If you're going to a supermarket, you'd like to go to a supermarket where you can buy everything you need rather than just two or three items," he says.
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  Abdel-Halim says there is some reason to be hopeful for the long-term viability of the Egyptian economy and the stock market.He expects exports to increase 50 percent from 2002 to 2005, primarily as a result of new natural gas discoveries.Since the government controls the natural gas industry, most of those new profits will be transferred into government coffers.This should particularly help in slowing down a rising budget deficit that has reached "alarming levels," he says.
  
  "It will decrease the government deficit unless it's hugely misused, which is a possibility," says Abdel-Halim.

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  Business Today Egypt June2003 - Cover Story - Last Man... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 6/1/2003    Last Visited: 1/23/2004  

  "They clearly spent too much on the license fees for Algeria and Tunisia," Hussein Abdel Halim, head of research at Sigma Capital, said at the time.

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