CAIRO: Commercial International Bank will launch a new initiative with Istethmar Fund, enabling all Egyptians to subscribe and support the Egyptian stock exchange by changing the minimum subscription units for first orders to 1 unit instead of the current minimum of 10. This initiative will begin Feb. 13, subject to the reopening of the stock exchange on that day, and run until March 31. “This will enable the widest available client base to participate without having any barrier of entry in the fund,” according to a statement. The bank will also remove the subscription fees of 0.25 percent for Istethmar fund to “facilitate the investment of the full amounts in the stock market without any fees to increase the reward to both the clients and EGX.” Non-CIB customers will be allowed to subscribe directly in Istethmar without opening a CIB account for amounts below LE 7,000. This will spare customers from paying account opening fees, minimum account balance fees and annual maintenance fees. Many young Egyptians aware of the dire effects of a possible stock market crash are rushing to form initiatives calling on people not to pull out of the stock market unnecessarily, while at the same time asking people to invest with even as little as LE 100. Commercial International Bank — the parent company of CI Capital — created an investment fund in which any one can invest as little as LE 67, “building on youth initiatives calling on the Egyptian youth to stimulate and revitalize the national economy and support the stock market,” according to a statement. CI Capital is calling for the same, under the slogan: “No to selling.” The fund aims at raising the volume of trading on the stock exchange “to protect it from the negative effects that may result from the current crisis, drawing from a Facebook initiative calling on every Egyptian to invest LE 100 or more in the stock market.” Brokerage firms are to facilitate trading operations by exempting costumers from commission charges or expenses, “to support the positive trend shown by the youth of Egypt,” the statement read. In an interview with Daily News Egypt, Karim Helal, CI Capital's Group CEO, said: “The only one who will protect our capital market is us, and now everybody is asking how they can help. There's an incredible sense of patriotism.”
