Bourse’s head meets Italian amb to discuss mutual cooperation

CAIRO – 18 December 2017: Chairman of Egypt’s Stock Exchange Mohamed Farid met on Monday with the Italian Ambassador to Egypt Giampaolo Cantini to discuss enhancing mutual cooperation in field of capital market and investment, an official statement issued by the Egyptian Exchange.

During the meeting Farid reviewed reforms Egypt has made in fields of finance, investment, legislative reforms and the latest developments in the Egyptian Exchange, the statement added.

Farid said that Egypt has made one of the most successful stories of reforms in the region, the pound flotation as an example, describing the steps taken by the government as brave and unexpected.

Egypt’s economic reforms appear to be working, with growth and revenues picking up in some areas, a senior International Monetary Fund official told Reuters in late October.
The government adopted a reform program to help revive the economy hard hit by a shortage of foreign currency and investment on the back of the 25th Revolution that overthrew long time ruler Hosni Mubarak.

The program aims to improve the functioning of the foreign exchange markets, bring down the budget deficit and government debt, and raise growth to create jobs, especially for women and youth. It also aims to protect the most vulnerable groups in the society during the process of adjustment.

Egypt’s stock Exchange is working on an ambitious plan aiming to create a powerful market through attracting new IPO’s, which have financial and administrative efficiency as well as upgrading trading environment so as to convince new investors to transact therefore the liquidity is expected to increase.

Farid called the Italian Ambassador to arrange meeting with Italian Investors and Investment funds to be able to review the advantages of investing in the Egyptian Exchange, noting that Italian Investments in Egyptian bourse is little when comparing it to the whole Italian investments in Egypt.

Farid pointed out that Egypt offers major and competitive opportunities for investors of the domestic and foreign private sector.

On his part, Italian Ambassador said that the situation in Egypt has changed for the better, and the business climate has significantly improved, leading to increased confidence in the investment climate.

He added that it is the time for Egypt to present its reform story to the world and to explain the reality of its current economic position so that it can attract more investments in order to achieve its desired development.