The Egyptian Exchange Chairman has said on Sunday the bourse is studying mechanisms for joint trading with Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) so as to enable the Turkish investors to trade directly in the EGX-listed firms and the Egyptian investors to trade directly as well in the ISE-listed firms. An ISE delegation will be visiting Egypt next December to discuss the means of introducing the joint trading between the two bourses as a sideline to attending the ASEA's 16th Annual Conference, the EGX Chairman Mohamed Omran told Reuters in a phone call. It is worth noting that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed last July between the Egyptian and Turkish bourses. Omran further added that the Egyptian bourse will discuss all the means by which the Turkish investors can trade directly in the EGX through Turkish brokerage firms as well as of allowing the Egyptian investors to trade directly in the ISE through Egyptian brokerage firms in return. The EGX signed in August cooperation agreements with two international trading networks (FIDESSA and ULLINK) so as to connect the Egyptian bourse with about 175 stock markets worldwide. Having joint trading with ISE will enable further foreign investors and financial institutions to trade in the Egyptian market, Omran noted. In June, the financial regulator, the Egyptian Financial Services Authority (EFSA), told local brokerages and portfolio management firms they could no longer trade foreign securities. EFSA said at the time such trading exposed investors to risks that authorities were unable to monitor. Traders said the move may have been motivated by a desire to limit transfers of hard currency abroad. EFSA chairman Ashraf El-Sharkawy told Reuters a Turkish deal would not require changes to the Capital Market Law.
