São Paulo – This week, the shares of the building company owned by Orascom group, one of the major business conglomerates in Egypt, have reached their highest value since September 22, after the announcement of an agreement with the Brazilian company EBX, owned by billionaire Eike Batista, for building a fertilizer factory on the coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro. The information was published this Wednesday (26th) by The National , a newspaper based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The deal was made public last Monday (24th).
According to The National , Orascom Construction Industries is the main publicly traded building company in Egypt. Following the announcement of the partnership with EBX, the company’s shares rose by 2.3% to 234 Egyptian pounds (US$ 39.12) last Tuesday (25th). On Wednesday, the shares dropped to 231.49 pounds, but this Thursday they went up again and closed at 235.27 pounds, representing a 1.59% increase.
Orascom and EBX intend to create a fertilizer manufacturing complex in Porto do Açu, a port currently being built by the Rio-based group on the coast of Rio de Janeiro.
The plant is intended to have an annual capacity of 3 tonnes of nitrogen-based fertilizers. The investment should be US$ 3 billion, according to a statement issued by the two companies.
Brazil imports most of the fertilizers it uses on its crops, and Egypt is a supplier of raw material to the industry. Orascom’s fertilizer division has units in Egypt, Algeria, Europe and the United States.
The two companies intend to form a joint venture to run the business.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
