IDWBE allocates EGP 132m to fund establishment of first commodity stock exchange in Middle East

Exchange to provide 70% of market's needs, comes within plan for funding, retailing for development purposes, says Fahmy

The Industrial Development and Workers Bank of Egypt (IDWBE) allocated EGP 132m to fund the establishment of the first commodity stock exchange for fruits and vegetables in Egypt and the Middle East. It will be on an area of 57 feddans within the Badr district of Beheira.
According to the general plan, the stock exchange will include an area for exhibitions, agencies, and exportation plants, in addition to factories for utilisation of agricultural waste and complementary industries, alongside a services area established in cooperation with the Governorate of Beheira and its Chamber of Commerce.
According to Maged Fahmy, the chairperson and managing director of the IDWBE, funding the project comes in line with the directives of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to establish such a stock exchange within a year, meant to be one of several national projects that bring a public benefit.
He added that the bank is adopting the idea of funding and retailing for development purposes, which will be achieved by the project, as it will work to provide 70% of the market's needs and reduce prices by 50%, eliminating monopolies and reducing the role of intermediaries and random trade.
According to Hamdy Azzam, the deputy chairperson of the bank, the bank received requests from 140 investors for the project, with funding worth EGP 132m, including requests that are still under study and research. He pointed out that funding the project comes within the initiative of the Central Bank of Egypt to support small projects, with a grace period of five years and funding of 70% of the stock exchange units' value.
He also added that this funding is part of the framework of the cooperation protocol signed by the bank and the Beheira Chamber of Commerce in October 2017, in order to implement the vision of the political leadership to establish a commodity stock exchange, which is the first of its kind in Egypt and the Middle East, providing the market with the vegetables and fruits it needs.
According to Tarek Galal, the supervisor of the credit areas and head of the small and medium enterprises at the IDWBE, the location of the project was chosen very carefully. It is located on an area of 57 feddans in Sukhna village, Badr district, Beheira. The surrounding area produces nearly 70% of the fruits and vegetables needed across the country. It is located between two important axes for trade transportation, which are the Alexandria-Marsa Matrouh Road and the Alexandria Agricultural Road.
Galal added that the project will generate about 25,000 direct and indirect jobs. It will also include three main areas. The first is to comprise 120 exhibitions, 680 agencies, 130 refrigerators, and 50 exportation stations. The industrial areas include factories to utilise agricultural waste and complementary industries, such as juice, jam, concentrates, cardboard, and packaging, in addition to a service area.