CAIRO: The Egyptian Exchange elected a new board of directors Tuesday, after a fierce competition between candidates, comprising four members plus a representative of Misr for Clearing, Depository and Central Registry. The board includes Aladdin Saba, chairman and CEO of investment bank Beltone Financial; Hisham Tawfik, chairman of Al-Arabia Online; Mahmoud Shaaban, chairman of Roots Brokerage; and Gamal Fawzi, vice chairman of Mena Touristic & Real Estate Investments, who represents all listed companies on the bourse. There were a total 263 votes, 13 of which were void. "It was a fierce election, particularly after the new regulations, Tawfik told Daily New Egypt. The election is the first of its kind since new regulations set forth by a Presidential decree in June. Topping the new board's agenda is "restoring confidence between regulators and professionals in the market, said Tawfik. This past July, the three regulatory bodies overseeing Egypt's non-banking financial sector - the Capital Market Authority, the Egyptian Insurance Supervisory Authority and the Mortgage Finance Authority - were brought under one umbrella: the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA), headed by Ziad Bahaa El-Din. The EFSA supervises all non-banking financial transactions and markets including the capital markets, derivative markets on financial assets and commodities, insurance contracts and services, mortgage finance, financial leasing, factoring and securitization. The new board also plans to form a federation for asset managers, brokers and investment bankers, said Tawfik. Another item on the agenda for the new board will be to "minimize the cost of trading and [better] integrate the exchange and Misr for Clearing, Depository and Central Registry so the [financial] market has one database and one system, he added. These are medium- to long-term agenda that will take between "six months to a year to achieve, Tawfik said. The election took place this week in the presence of Maged Shawky, chairman of the Egypt Exchange, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Investment and the EFSA. Among the candidates vying for the four seats were Sherif Cararah, head of brokerage at EFG-Hermes; Hussein El-Sherbiny, managing partner at Pharos Holding; as well as Khaled El-Tayeb, board member at Pioneers Holdings. No date has been set for the first board meeting.
