Capital Markets

Since the start of the nation’s political transition in 2011, Egypt’s capital markets have faced a number of challenges. Nevertheless, 2012 saw Egypt’s exchange recover the ground it lost in 2011, growing by 51% year-on-year to become one of the fastest expanding in the world. Its path to recovery has been a volatile one, which has demonstrated the influence of political events on market sentiment, but just as importantly, the return to form displayed the bourse’s ability to attract capital when circumstances allow. In 2009 the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange was rebranded as the Egyptian Exchange (EGX). As of June 2012, 212 companies were listed on the exchange, with a nominal capital of LE150.1bn ($21.4bn) and market value capital of LE339.8bn ($48.4bn). Egypt’s ongoing political transition is the single biggest factor affecting the bourse’s performance, and until the prevailing unsettled economic backdrop has stabilised, it is unlikely that the EGX will show the type of sustained growth that its management and regulator have been working assiduously to engender. This chapter contains interviews with Mohamed Omran, Former Chairman, Egyptian Exchange (EGX); and a viewpoint from Hussein Choucri, Chairman and MD, HC Securities & Investments.