Tunisian Stocks Decline to Lowest Since May on Job Riots, School Closures
Tunisia’s benchmark stock index fell to the lowest level in eight months after the government closed schools and universities to quell the worst violence the country has seen since unemployment protests began last month.
The Tunindex lost 3.7 percent to 4,893.46 at the 2:10 p.m. close in the capital Tunis, the lowest level since May 5. That brought the two-day drop to 6.2 percent. The measure has gained 8.7 percent in the past 12 months. Banque de Tunisie, the North African country’s biggest bank by market value, slid 6 percent.
“Events like these are bound to make you worry,” said Slim Feriani, London-based chief executive officer of Advance Emerging Capital LTD, which manages $800 million. “We have to look at the benefit-risk trade-off in any frontier market, and political risk is part of it, which is why we took a step back in Tunisia.”
Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is facing protests against unemployment that killed at least 14 people in two days. Yesterday he pledged to create 300,000 jobs in two years and cut taxes on companies that employ young people. The protests, which are rare in Tunisia, erupted last month in the province of Sidi Bouzid after a 26-year-old man set himself on fire. Ben Ali said yesterday that the demonstrations were orchestrated by “outside powers and masked gangs.”
Banque de Tunisie, the heaviest component of the Tunisian benchmark, plunged to 10.9 Tunisian dinars, the lowest level since Aug. 11. Attijari Bank lost 5.4 percent to 19.89 dinars, its lowest level since August 2009.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ahmed A Namatalla in Cairo at anamatalla@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Maedler at cmaedler@bloomberg.net.
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