CAIRO: Egypt's benchmark stock index tumbled over 3 percent on Monday, pulling the market lower for a second consecutive day as investor worries mounted that an investigation into the head of a leading Mideast private equity firm signaled a major widening in anti-corruption probes. The Egyptian Exchange's benchmark EGX30 was off 3.2 percent by 1:15 PM. Cairo time, building on the previous day's 3.43 percent decline. The drop pushed the index's year to date losses to over 30 percent – a clear reflection of the crisis of investor confidence confronting the Arab world's most populous nation in the wake of the uprising that ousted former President Hosni Mubarak. Brokers said the drop was fueled by authorities' decision to ban Ahmed Heikal, the chairman of Citadel Capital, from traveling abroad and a decision late last week by an Egyptian government agency to rescind preliminary approval to sell 20 million meters of land to the Egyptian Resorts Company. One of ERC's board members is already under investigation for alleged links to violence against the protesters in the initial days of the uprising. “It's clear people are panicked because of these decisions,” said Khaled Naga, a senior broker with Mega Investments. Egypt's new military rulers and civilian authorities, under pressure from protesters to move forward more quickly with pledges to hold accountable former regime officials and businessmen seen as benefiting from links to Mubarak and the then-ruling National Democratic Party, have stepped up investigations against these individuals.
