Egypt adopts a 7-pronged strategy to develop its stock exchange in 2024

Egypt has proposed a new strategy to develop its stock exchange during the year 2024, which includes 7 axes divided into 60 items to stimulate demand and enhance the investments of institutions and individuals locally, regionally and internationally, according to a statement issued by the Egyptian Stock Exchange.

Comprehensive development of work systems

During his meeting with Mostafa Madbouly, Egyptian Prime Minister, Ahmed Al-Sheikh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Stock Exchange, reviewed the development strategy, noting that it includes a comprehensive development of work systems in the market.

The main index of the Egyptian Stock Exchange, EGX30, achieved a return of 66% during the current year until December 28, 2023, which is the highest return in several years.

Earlier in 2023, the heads of 4 companies revealed that the Egyptian Stock Exchange would work to replace the trading system and program during the 2024.

Financing government proposals

The market capitalization of the Stock Exchange rose to 1.66 trillion pounds, an increase of 73% over the year 2022, while the ratio of market capitalization to gross domestic product rose to 16.4%, which is the highest in years, according to the statement.

Madbouly indicated that the government is relying heavily on the stock exchange as a platform for financing and investing in a number of important files, most notably the government offering program, which includes offering shares of a number of government companies for trading on the stock exchange, which allows attracting more foreign investments through the stock market. 

New financial instruments

The strategy includes providing new financial instruments that meet different needs of customers and levels of risk tolerance and maximize returns, the most important of which are the Sharia index, financial derivatives, carbon certificates, and real estate shares. It also includes allowing brokerage companies to deal in treasury bills and bonds in the secondary market.

The Egyptian Stock Exchange seeks to launch an index compatible with Islamic law during the first half of next year, as part of its effort to attract new investors to the financial market, according to Ahmed Al-Sheikh, Chairman of the Stock Exchange’s Board of Directors, in an interview with Al-Sharq last November.

The total trading values on the Egyptian Stock Exchange rose to 3.3 trillion pounds, with the trading values of restricted stocks doubling after trading in treasury bills began in the secondary market last September.

The Egyptian Stock Exchange witnessed a record number of new investors during the current year at 364.4 thousand investors, according to Ahmed Al-Sheikh, Chairman of the Egyptian Stock Exchange, who indicated that the number of individual investors rose to 361 thousand compared to 175.8 thousand in 2022, while institutions recorded 3,500 compared to 1,500. In 2022.