EFSA approves decision to reduce trading time on stocks in EGX

EGX begins meetings with investor relations officials to improve communication and disclosure

The Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA) has approved a decision to reduce the time of temporary trading on stocks in the Egyptian stock exchange (EGX) from 30 minutes to 15 minutes during a session because of the price changes.
A statement issued by the EGX on Monday said that EFSA has provided the management with flexibility regarding increasing or reducing the period between the minimum of 15 minutes to the maximum of 30 minutes, depending on the market conditions.
Mohamed Farid, the chairperson of the EGX, said in a statement that studying international experiences of a group of emerging and advanced markets has shown that the time to stop trading differs from one market to another, ranging from two minutes to fifteen minutes.
Farid noted that the EGX still adopts the strategy of halting trading in cases of price changes in order to guarantee stability in the market even with sudden price changes.
Mohsen Adel, the vice chairperson of the EGX, said that the decision to reduce the time comes within an integrated plan adopted by the management to develop the trading system in the market. The step will be followed by other steps to increase efficiency.
In an effort to strengthen the market, EGX management has held a workshop in the presence of a number of investment and research managers in companies and institutions working in the Egyptian market and investor relations officials of three registered companies: Alexandria Mineral Oils Co. (AMOC), Abu Qir Fertilizers and Chemicals Company, and Telecom Egypt (TE). This meeting came within the framework to activate more efficient communication channels between parties of the market.
The meeting witnessed officials of the investors' affairs explaining the data within recent disclosures and looking at the situation based on the recent financial centres announced in a way that suits the rules regulating disclosures in the EGX.
The meeting comes as the first in a series of meetings that the EGX plans to host between financial analysts and investor heads with the investor relations' officials in the registered companies. The aim of the meetings is to explain the work plans and the data recently disclosed to the EGX management. This comes as part of the efforts to increase the quality of disclosures made by registered companies.
For his part, Farid revealed that holding such meetings aims to create a more developed and efficient plan for the Egyptian capital market. He pointed out that the upcoming period will witness more attention paid to developing the abilities of investor relations officials in the registered companies in cooperation with professional associations to meet the needs of traders within the market and help them build their investment decisions.
Within the same context, the attendees of the workshop have stated that they view these kinds of meetings in a very positive light, especially that this creates direct communication with the registered companies. They noted that the contribution of the EGX in organising such meetings helps financial analysts prepare financial reports and research about the performance of these companies.