The Egyptian stock market concludes 2013 with a 24% growth rate despite the challenges it faced as a result of the political turbulence plaguing the country, according to a report from the bourse. The annual report shows that total value traded in 2013 registered EGP 161bn, marking a decrease from EGP 185bn in 2012 and a hike from EGP 148bn in 2011. "January 2011 levels were hit as the capital market gained EGP 51bn in 2013," the report said. The main index EGX-30 hiked by 24% to reach its highest levels since the uprising of 2011. Meanwhile EGX-70, which encompasses small and medium sized companies, registered a 14% increase and the broader index EGX-100 marked a 15% increase. The report highlighted the difference between the market's performance before and after the ousting of former President Mohamed Morsi in the beginning of July: during the first half of the year, market transactions slumped by 13%. However, the main index hiked by 43% in the second half of the year, according to the report. "The Egyptian bourse ranked second in the emerging markets, according to Morgan Stanley Corporation's report on the performance of global markets," read the report. In 2013, nine companies have been listed in the stock, the report said, adding that the capital of 24 companies was increased by EGP 5bn, "which is quadruple the value of capital that have increased during 2012". The bourse said that despite the numerous events of the year and the political turmoil, more than 1,200 organisations began investing in the Egyptian market. In 2013, 16,000 investors traded in the bourse, the report showed. The report pointed out that the most active five sectors in terms of trading were in the sectors of telecommunications, financial services, excluding banks, construction and building, real estate and household products. Meanwhile, the performance of stock market companies improved in the quarter of 1 October to 31 December 2013. EGX-30 closed at 6,783 points with a 28.68% increase, while EGX-70 registered an 11.53% increase and EGX-100 posted 13.79% in gains as a result of concluding the quarter at 542 and 923 points, respectively. According to the quarterly report, companies serving food and beverages topped the performance index , followed by the basic resources, banks, industrial goods and real estate sectors. In terms of the volume traded, the financial services sector, excluding banks, topped the list, registering 2.8 billion traded shares. The telecommunications sector recorded 1.9 billion shares traded, followed by the real estate sector, which marked 1.7 billion shares traded. The total traded value in this quarter amounted to EGP 39.5bn, compared to EGP 41.4bn in the previous quarter.
