Egypt's Orascom loses Algeria tax appeal

CAIRO

Egyptian telecommunications giant Orascom Telecom says its Algerian subsidiary Djezzy has lost its final appeal over a tax reassessment of almost $600 million.

Orascom, which operates Mobinil, Egypt's largest mobile phone service provider by number of subscribers, said in a statement Thursday it "intends to challenge this rejection" by the Algerian tax authority in the country's administrative courts.

Algerian authorities maintain that Djezzy owed back taxes and penalties for the period between 2004 and 2007. Orascom already paid roughly a third of the back taxes in order to file the earlier appeals.

The dispute surfaced as relations between Egypt and Algeria soured due to violence linked to a World Cup qualifier match between the two nations in November.