REFILE-Egypt's Sawiris giving up Mobinil chairmanship
(Refiles to correct spelling of Shalaby)
CAIRO, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris is leaving the chairmanship of Egyptian mobile operator ECMS (EMOB.CA), the company said on Sunday.
Alex Shalaby, now chief executive officer of the company, which trades under the name Mobinil, will take over the chairmanship on Sept. 1, it said in a statement.
Shalaby's replacement as CEO of ECMS will be Hassan Kabbani, it added. Kabbani, who is of Lebanese origin, has been running the Algerian mobile operator Djezzy since 2003.
Shalaby told Reuters he would also replace Sawiris as chairman of Mobinil, a company which owns 51 percent of ECMS. But Sawiris will remain on both boards, he added.
"Naguib has been chairman for 10 years and was looking for a change and also for continuity," Shalaby said.
As chairman Shalaby will play a larger role in relations with the government and the regulatory authority. "It would be good to have someone who would dedicate a little bit more time to this and without the executive role," Shalaby added.
Sawiris is also chairman of Orascom Telecom (ORTE.CA) (ORTEq.L), which owns 33.1 percent of ECMS. France Telecom-Orange (FTE.PA) is the largest shareholder, with 36.3 percent. (Writing by Jonathan Wright; editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
