Non-Egyptian companies can now list shares in Egypt without meeting high capital requirements, provided they fulfil other conditions, according to changes to the Financial Regulatory Authority’s (FRA) listing rules (pdf). The rules previously only allowed companies domiciled abroad to list on the EGX if their capital exceeds USD 100 mn, or is between USD 10-100 mn for smaller caps looking to list on Nilex. For comparison, capital requirements for resident companies on the EGX are EGP 100 mn and between EGP 1-100 mn on small cap Nilex.

To be exempt from the minimum capital requirement for foreign companies, these entities must have more than 50% of their shareholders’ equity, revenues, and assets attributable to subsidiaries they registered in Egypt. They also cannot be listed elsewhere before coming to Egypt. Companies that meet these requirements will be subject to the same capital requirements that apply to their homegrown counterparts.