Egypt's economy is currently in a dire need for more of direct investment funds and infrastructure funds, according to stock exchange chairman Mohamed Omran. In addition to the exchange traded funds (ETFs) and equity funds, Egypt currently needs a variety of investment funds, notably the direct investment and infrastructure ones, Omran said in a keynote speech at the 1st Annual Funds' Conference in Cairo on Monday. The Egyptian official elaborated that the direct investment funds play a major role in supporting the state's economic growth in addition to increasing the volume of savings. For the infrastructure funds, he added that such funds substantially contribute to the growth rates. The volume of assets for the mutual funds in Egypt totals nearly $1 billion, he noted. Yet, the official said such a volume is still too humble and needed to grow more and more within the coming phase. Optimistically speaking, Omran referred that recent amendments made by the market regulator, the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA) are widely expected to facilitate the launch of more mutual funds in Egypt within the upcoming period. Moreover, EGX's chairman stated that Egypt's economy has promising growth potentials within the upcoming phase by virtue of holding the presidential and then parliamentary elections. Under the title "Mutual Funds' Role in Supporting Egypt's Economy", the event is organized by Money Cycle, a specialized company in promoting the economic products/services in a different effective way that ensures success for the product/service and prosperity for the Egyptian economy. The one-day event is set to shed the light on the mutual funds industry in Egypt in terms of the importance of such funds, exploring new investment opportunities, financing mechanisms, the risks, and the types classified by investment policy i.e. Equity Funds (traditional and Shariah-compliant stocks), Fixed-income Funds, Cash Liquidity Funds, etc.
