EGX Chairman Meets The Italian Ambassador In Cairo

Mr. Mohamed Farid, EGX Chairman held a meeting today with H. E the Italian Ambassador in Cairo Giampaolo Cantini to discuss ways and means of enhancing Italian investments in Egypt generally and particularly in the capital markets.

During the meeting, EGX Chairman presented the reform programs Egypt has recently witnessed on the financial, monetary, investment and legislative levels as well as the latest developments in the stock market.

In line with this, EGX Chairman said, “Egypt currently has one of the most successful reform stories in the region, as a result of the gallant reform procedures taken by the government, which no one has been expecting in the past 60 years, among which is the floating of the currency.
Farid assured that EGX Board of Directors is currently implementing an ambitious plan to deepen the market by increasing the pool of companies by listing new financially and managerial qualified companies. Parallel to that, it is improving the trading environment to encourage individual and institutional investors to invest in the market, which will contribute in increasing the liquidity.

EGX Chairman invited H. E. the Italian ambassador to arrange meetings with the Italian investment funds and major Italian investors to present the advantages of investing in EGX; especially that the Italian investment portfolio in the stock market is still weak compared to the volume of Italian investments in Egypt.

Farid added that Egypt is a country full of great potentials, where its population exceeds 100 million. Moreover, it offers a diversified economy, offering competitive opportunities and great incentives for the private sector local and foreign investors. This reflects the new investment law and executive regulations.

EGX Chairman also invited the Italian business community to augment their investments in Egypt, in order to the benefit of the huge investment opportunities currently available in various sectors, in general. He also encouraged them to invest in EGX in specific as EGX offers diversified sectors for all the Egyptian economy.

Farid asserts that investors perceive Egypt as a future opportunity. This is explained by the great activity of the stock exchange, as the foreigners are net buyers concluding more than LE 13 billion from November 2016 till current.

From his side, H.E. the Italian Ambassador, Giampaolo Cantini said that the situation in Egypt has changed for the better, and the business climate has significantly improved, leading to raise the confidence in the investment climate.

The Italian ambassador added that this is the right time for Egypt to present its reform story to the world and to explain the genuineness of the situation. This enables Egypt to attract more investments to achieve the desired development.
The Italian ambassador stressed the need to support venture capital funds, which provide financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as SMEs are considered the development pillar of the Egyptian economy for their ability to create large jobs opportunities for the youth.

Finally, the two sides agreed to do their communications and discussions to enhance bilateral cooperation that contribute in attracting more Italian investments to EGX.