Egyptian tourism entrepreneur Hamed El Chiaty told Reuters on Monday that he is ready to increase his holding in German tour operator TUI.

'I am waiting for a chance to up my TUI stake,' he said late on Monday on the sidelines of TUI's 40-year anniversary. 'I'm waiting for my advisors to tell me now is a good time.'

The hotelier, a long-term business partner of TUI, had regained a stake of just over 3 per cent in the company in April after lending it out following the annual shareholder meeting in May 2007, only to sell most of it again in May of this year.

TUI shares have lost half their market value so far this year.

El Chiaty declined to say what price would mark a buying opportunity for him.

Another shareholder, Carmen Riu, in turn told Reuters she planned to keep her 5 per cent stake in the German tourism company unchanged.-Reuters