CAIRO: Egypt's Orascom Telecom Media and Technology (OTMT) CEO Khaled Bishara claimed on Thursday that the plan to sell most of the remaining shares of Mobinil to France Telecom is strictly an economic deal and maintains the rights of the company and its shareholders. According to an interview, Bishara also denied that there was any political background to the deals, and that the decision was not related to Mobinil's financial results last year. He also denied rumors that Orascom is downsizing it's operations in Egypt. There has been a lot of speculation surrounding Orascom's latest deal with France Telecom as they refused to sell parts of Mobinil last year at a much higher price per share. The deal, publicized on Monday, is worth a reported $1 billion and gives the French telecom giant nearly 100 percent stake in the Egyptian company. Mobinil will retain a small percentage of shares, as under Egyptian law, no foreign company is permitted to own 100 percent of a local operation. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/MbmCQ Tags: France Telecom, Mobinil, Orascom, Telecom Section: Business, Egypt, Latest News, Tech