Egypt's Global Telecom loss balloons in second quarter

Egypt-listed telecoms firm Global Telecom posted a widened net loss for the second quarter, blaming a weak Egyptian pound and impairment charges in its African operations.

Foreign exchange losses of $109 million and a bad business performance in the Central African Republic and Burundi, which contributed to impairments of $22 million, hit Global Telecom's revenues, the company said on Wednesday.

Egypt's central bank, which effectively controls official foreign exchange rates, allowed the Egyptian pound to weaken sharply against the dollar between April and June.

Global Telecom, formerly known as Orascom Telecom, has exited most of its Egyptian operations and is now a subsidiary of Russia's Vimpelcom. An official at the company said the foreign exchange hit was the result of a "retranslation" of loans between US dollars and Egyptian pounds.