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The recent history of bancassurance in Egypt has at times been a troubled one. While the concept was enthusiastically adopted in the period of sustained economic growth leading up to 2008, the pace of the industry’s expansion exposed a number of weaknesses. Chief among these were a lack of adequately trained staff and an increasing amount of...

The prospect of a new commodities exchange in Egypt is one of the more significant developments to emerge in 2016. While the possibility of creating a new market has been floated for years, the current proposal, if developed as planned, will be a regional first. It would also correct the currently dysfunctional system that governs trade in...

OUTLINE: The first Egyptian mutual fund was launched in 1994. Since that time, the industry has evolved slowly. There are nearly 100 funds operating under the supervision of the Egyptian Financial Services Authority (EFSA) at present. There are specialised funds in a number of different asset...

OUTLINE: In 2015 and 2016 the government was adamant about supporting the value of the Egyptian pound in the face of ongoing currency depreciation pressure, through its successive increases of the Treasury rate. As of October 2016 Treasury bond offerings show the five-year bonds standing at 13.4%...

OUTLINE: The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) is one of the oldest stock markets in the Middle East, dating back to 1883. The exchange covers the main market, an overthe-counter market and the Nilex, which is a relatively new market designated for small and medium-sized enterprises. As of December 2015 there...

The year 2016 was a difficult one for exchanges across the MENA region, thanks in large part to stubbornly low oil prices and political unrest. Egypt’s main index reflected the regional malaise for the first half of 2016, with a currency crisis and seemingly intractable fiscal deficit doing little to boost investor confidence. By the second...