Naguib Sawiris’ OIH to sell stake in Pakistan-based submarine cables business: Orascom Investment Holding’s board of directors has preliminarily approved selling the company’s entire stake in internet service provider Transworld Associates (TWA), the company said in a regulatory filing (pdf). OIH owns a 51% stake in TWA, which is an internet service provider in Pakistan; it also owns a 1.3k km submarine cable system connecting the UAE, Oman, and Pakistan. TWA began operations in 2006 as a JV between OIH, British Virgin Islands-based Orastar Limited, and Omani businessman Omar Abdul Mone’m Yousuf Al Zawawi.

Separately, OIH’s board accepted the resignation of Naguib Sawiris as chairman. Sawiris will remain OIH’s chief executive and managing director, while former Telecom Egypt Chairman Akil Bashir will serve as a non-executive chairman. The resignation comes after OIH earlier this year spun off its non-bank financial services holdings into a separate company in a horizontal demerger. Shortly after, Sawiris also stepped down as board member of Beltone Financial, which was given a new parent following the split and underwent a temporary board reshuffle.