Three to five medium- to large-sized IPOs are expected on the EGX before the end of the year, the vice-chairman of the EGX told Reuters’ Ihab Farouk in an interview for the wire’s Arabic service. Mohsen Adel says the EGX has plans to attract new listings by adding new “financial instruments including Islamic financing, and switching to a full digital quote system” over the “next few years.” He sees the high interest rates as potentially attracting new companies to the stock market, as the cost of capital in equity is become relatively less expensive than taking on debt. As is customary with all new EGX boards of directors, we are promised a commodities exchange, a real, live secondary bond market, as well as allowing short selling. The new changes, Adel says, will come as part of a revamped Capital Markets Act that will be presented to the House of Representatives in October. Through EFSA’s website, you can review the articles of the existing law number 95 / 1992 (also available in English) and its executive regulations (both in PDF).

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