Gold, steel, and cotton could eventually be on the menu for Egypt’s commodities exchange: The new Egyptian Commodities Exchange (Egycomex) could expand its tradable commodities to include non-food items such as gold, steel and cotton after trading begins in the first half of next year, exchange boss Ibrahim Ashmawy told Al Arabiya in an interview, without specifying a timeframe. Traders may initially be able to buy and sell wheat, oil, sugar, and rice, Ashmawy told us last week, but noted that these are not set in stone.

Background: The long-awaited exchange has been in the works since February 2018, when it was made possible after amendments made to the Capital Markets Act. The company that will operate the exchange is already up and running, with Ashmawy as its newly-appointed chairman. Shareholders in the company include the EGX, GASC, the Internal Trade Development Authority, private-sector investment banks Beltone, CI Capital and EFG Hermes, and several other state banks. Those shareholders are currently studying other options and will increase the number of tradable goods post-launch.