THE DOW Jones CASE Egypt Titans 20 index was launched last week. Formed by the American global index provider Dow Jones, this index comprises 20 of Egypt's biggest and most liquid stocks ranked by factors including their free-float, market capitalisation, sales value and net income. The blue-chip index measures the performance of the included shares following the methodology and regulations of the Dow Jones Global Titans 50 Index. Included in the index as well is the performance of these companies as well as that of the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange (CASE). The exposure of these to global investors would thus attract more foreign investments. The new index is designed to serve as an underlying criterion for investment products such as mutual funds, that would enable investors to participate in the performance of the Egyptian stock market. The top five companies in the index by free- float market capitalisation are Orascom Telecom Holding, Orascom Construction Industries, EFG-Hermes Holding, Egyptian Kuwaiti Holding and Commercial International Bank. The Dow Jones CASE Egypt Titans 20 Index is reviewed annually every June. Float figures provided by CASE are updated bi- annually in June and December while the weightings are reviewed quarterly. The returns of the index are measured in Egyptian pound. Tracing the performance of the listed 20 companies back to 31 December 2001 up until 31 March 2006, the index has a 94.05 per cent annualised total return. The index is part of the Dow Jones Titans series of indices which comprises among others, the Dow Jones Global Titans 50, Dow Jones Islamic Market Titans 100 and 16 Dow Jones Country Titans indices that cover Europe, Asia and North America. The index declined during transactions held in its first two days of activity -- Wednesday and Thursday -- following the market's southward movement. The Egyptian market is included in many international indices such as the Morgan Stanley index, Standard and Poor's index and the International Finance Cooperation (IFC) index.
