Questor share tip: Hold as Sukari woes continue A total lack of fuel subsidy would add about $150 (£95) an ounce to the cost of producing gold at the mine. However, the government has provided half of the subsidy, which means $75 is added to the cost of producing each ounce at the moment. Centamin elected to buy the other half of its fuel requirement in international markets rather than disrupt operations. Managers believe it is legally entitled to receive the full subsidy and should ultimately recover the extra cash it has spent on fuel. They are now in talks with the government to see how the situation will play out. "The company has the support of the Egyptian Mineral Resource Authority in these negotiations and does not accept an instant move to international fuel prices as a reasonable outcome," Centamin said. "The company will look to recover any funds advanced thus far at this higher rate should negotiations be concluded successfully, as anticipated," it added. In the long run, the subsidy is likely to go, but Centamin wants to negotiate a phased transition. This seems wise. UK investors are lucky because the London Stock Exchange allows access to projects all over the world. But, as Centamin demonstrates, there can be pitfalls - and many investors in the company are sitting on large losses. The company has been hit hard because it has just one asset in just one country. In effect, all of its eggs are in one basket. That gives an elevated country risk. There is no doubt that shares in Centamin Egypt are cheap. However, they are cheap for a reason. The political uncertainty remains and the country's economy remains moribund. There is also no question that Sukari is a premier asset which will be worth a lot of money once the political situation eases and the Egyptian economy recovers. Indeed, there are tentative signs of this happening. A Reuters poll of analysts this week showed that the market expects growth of 1.6pc this year, with a rise to 4pc next year. However, it is projected that 6pc growth is needed to start reducing unemployment. The shares are significantly below the high of 159¾p at which they were tipped before the Arab Spring, but they are still 60pc above the original tip price of 42½p on January 5, 2009. Of the 13 analysts covering the shares and monitored by Bloomberg on price targets, the average is 147.13p. The shares are a hold because of the difficult backdrop that has emerged, but investors with a long-term view and a speculative nature may wish to tuck some away.