Back to the complete issue
Monday, 2 April 2018

Nasr, Omran unveil new 2018-2022 strategy for development of non-banking financial sector

Nasr, Omran strategy to drive growth of non-bank financial sector, focus seems to be on futures exchange and easing red tape: Investment Minister Sahar and Financial Regulatory (FRA) boss Mohamed Omran announced yesterday they were launching a four-year strategy aimed at developing Egypt’s non-banking financial services sector. The plan, they say, will involve both structural and legislative reforms to boost the industry and improve its contribution to economic growth, will pave the way for the introduction of new financial instruments, Omran told the press yesterday. This includes the framework for the establishment of futures exchanges — which became possible under newly-issued amendments to the Capital Markets Act — as well as the FRA working to simplify bourse listing rules and procedures and reducing the time it takes to approve licenses and stock issuance requests, he said.

The FRA also intends to take an active role in growing the volume of Egypt’s mortgage financing market to EGP 20 bn by 2022, up from EGP 8 bn currently, Omran added, explaining that the FRA will slash much of the red tape associated with property registration, as well as introduce rules to regulate the termination of mortgage contracts and guarantee the rights of all parties involved.

Break out your decoder rings: The strategy will also see amendments to the regulations governing investment funds that would ensure they have diverse portfolios and are yielding the best values and returns for their shareholders, the FRA boss said, without elaborating.

Omran said that a committee would be established to oversee the implementation of the strategy and ensure it hits targets that include:

  • Increasing capital market contribution to GDP to 50% by 2022, up from 25%;
  • Raising the size of the capital market to EGP 3 tn from a current EGP 1 tn;
  • Growing the number of listed companies to 400 from a current 275;
  • Increasing issuances to EGP 250 bn from EGP 150 bn.

The strategy is set to be presented to the House of Representatives’ economic committees and the nation’s Supreme Investment Council, according to Nasr.

Enterprise is a daily publication of Enterprise Ventures LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (commercial register 83594), and a subsidiary of Inktank Communications. Summaries are intended for guidance only and are provided on an as-is basis; kindly refer to the source article in its original language prior to undertaking any action. Neither Enterprise Ventures nor its staff assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, whether in the form of summaries or analysis. © 2022 Enterprise Ventures LLC.

Enterprise is available without charge thanks to the generous support of HSBC Egypt (tax ID: 204-901-715), the leading corporate and retail lender in Egypt; EFG Hermes (tax ID: 200-178-385), the leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets; SODIC (tax ID: 212-168-002), a leading Egyptian real estate developer; SomaBay (tax ID: 204-903-300), our Red Sea holiday partner; Infinity (tax ID: 474-939-359), the ultimate way to power cities, industries, and homes directly from nature right here in Egypt; CIRA (tax ID: 200-069-608), the leading providers of K-12 and higher level education in Egypt; Orascom Construction (tax ID: 229-988-806), the leading construction and engineering company building infrastructure in Egypt and abroad; Moharram & Partners (tax ID: 616-112-459), the leading public policy and government affairs partner; Palm Hills Developments (tax ID: 432-737-014), a leading developer of commercial and residential properties; Mashreq (tax ID: 204-898-862), the MENA region’s leading homegrown personal and digital bank; Industrial Development Group (IDG) (tax ID:266-965-253), the leading builder of industrial parks in Egypt; Hassan Allam Properties (tax ID:  553-096-567), one of Egypt’s most prominent and leading builders; and Saleh, Barsoum & Abdel Aziz (tax ID: 220-002-827), the leading audit, tax and accounting firm in Egypt.