EXCLUSIVE- FRA raises minimum required ownership stake for MTOs to 50% from 33%: The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) has approved regulatory amendments that require investors who own more than 50% of a listed company to make a mandatory tender offer to purchase the remaining shares, up from 33% currently, FRA deputy boss Khaled El Nashar told us this week. The amendments also allow investors who own more than 66% of a company to make an MTO to acquire up to only 90% of total shares, if they vow to refrain from delisting. The Investment Ministry has yet to sign off on the amendments before they are issued, El Nashar said.

Also from the FRA’s docket: Securities firms will be allowed to set up mutual funds. The FRA’s board has also approved new regulations that will allow securities and brokerage firms to establish mutual funds, according to El Nashar. Earlier this month, the FRA had issued new rules that allow brokerage firms to take orders for subscriptions in investment funds, which had previously been accessible only through banks.

FRA to begin drafting rules for futures exchange: In other news from the regulator, FRA boss Mohamed Omran has asked that a committee be formed to draft the rules and regulations that will govern future exchanges, Al Shorouk reports. The establishment of future exchanges became possible after the House of Representatives approved in February amendments to the Capital Markets Act. Omran had previously said that future exchanges are part of a four-year strategy to develop the non-banking financial sector.