Cairo, Dec. 29, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Nile City Towers - South Tower Corniche El Nil Cairo - Egypt Phone 20-2-461-1111 Fax 20-2-461-9400 Web www.orascomci.com
ECC Completes LE 1 billion Bond Issue
The Egyptian pound and US dollar tranches of the 6.5 year non-convertible local bond were oversubscribed by 3.2 and 2.2 times respectively
Cairo, Egypt - 26 December 2004: Orascom Construction Industries (stock symbols: OCIC.CA / ORCI EY / OCICq.L / ORSD LI) announced that its 53.7% owned subsidiary Egyptian Cement Company (ECC) has completed the issuance of its 6.5 year non-convertible local bond. The public offering of this LE 1 billion bond issue has resulted in an over-subscription of 3.2 times for the LE 500 million Egyptian pound tranche and 2.2 times for the US$ 80 million tranche. The LE 500 million tranche was offered with a fixed annual coupon rate of 11.75% and the US$ 80 million tranche was offered with an annual floating rate of 1.5% over the average daily London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR - 6 months). The Arab African International Bank acted as financial advisor and global coordinator. Along with the Arab African International Bank, lead underwriters and managers included the National Bank of Egypt, Bank of Alexandria, Cairo Barclays Bank and Banque Misr. EFG-Hermes acted as financial advisor. The proceeds of the bond issue will be used to repay the outstanding balance of the first bond issue and finance future company investments.
OCI Chief Executive Officer, Nassef Sawiris commented "demand for this second ECC bond issue was strong reflecting the company's sound financial position and the market's confidence in its future performance. In addition to its domestic operations, ECC has already secured new export orders for 2005 in excess of 2 million tons at significantly better prices. Moreover, the outlook for the domestic market next year is good with expectations for a rejuvenated construction market fueled by several positive developments including the activation of the new mortgage law. We are confident that 2005 will be another high growth year for ECC."
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