The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) received on Wednesday a delegation from the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce — including Chamber Members Hubertus Vath and Youssef Ahmed — as part of the meetings that the authority is conducting to discuss sustainable financing to meet climate challenges. The meeting also tackled the role of the private sector and local communities in facing climate change challenges, as Egypt prepares to host the UN Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP 27) in Sharm El-Sheikh this November. This aims to strengthen aspects of cooperation with members of the Chamber regarding environmental disclosures and the impact of climate changes on the non-banking financial sector and how to deal with them. Mohamed Omran — Chairperson of the FRA — said that the authority is currently studying the initial versions of the disclosures launched by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), which are scheduled to be submitted in July. He stressed that the authority continues to provide the necessary training programmes to raise awareness and build capacities of the non-banking financial sector on how to write reports and ensure the efficiency of their application. Omran also stressed the importance of cooperation between international bodies and entities interested in environmental disclosures related to the financial effects of climate change with the training arms of the authority, especially the Regional Centre for Sustainable Finance (RCSF). For his part, Vath invited Omran to participate in the 2022 Cairo and Frankfurt banking breakfast that will be organised by the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce and Frankfurt Main Finance, along with the 2022 Arab Banking Conference under the slogan 'The implications of the international crisis and its impact on the economic situation in the Arab region.' Vath indicated that advisory groups are currently formed to exchange information and opinions on the new disclosures submitted by the ISSB. The FRA has clear and previous efforts in this field, welcoming cooperation with the RCSF in providing joint training programmes to build capacity in the field of disclosure. On the other hand, Omran and his chief adviser, Islam Azzam, met with a delegation of the Capital Markets Regulatory Authority in the State of Sudan, including Vice-President of the Authority Al-Tayeb Al-Jaari and Shawqy Azmy — Director General of the Authority — to discuss ways to strengthen integration between the two countries in the financial market capital, exchanging visions to deal with the impact of the global economic crisis on stock markets and agreeing to provide training opportunities to exchange experiences in all disciplines of the capital market with the FRA. At the beginning of the meeting, the two parties discussed a draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation between the two countries to set a framework for information exchange. They also agreed to provide more protection for investors in the two markets in a way that contributes to ensuring the efficiency of stock markets. Furthermore, it was proposed to hold an annual meeting — as a bilateral working mechanism — for the purposes of evaluating and reviewing the joint business and cooperation initiatives that take place between the two bodies and consultation towards amending the terms of the MoU in the event of a fundamental change in the laws, practices, market conditions, or business in both countries. Omran said that the capital market community in Egypt deems the visits of Arab delegations of high priority. They aim to exchange experience and technical assistance to reach the highest levels of efficiency and safety for transactions in Arab stock markets. They also coordinate the policies and positions in all regional and international gatherings and forums in light of the FRA's presidency of the Committee on Developing and Emerging Markets of the International Organisation of Financial Market Regulatory Bodies (IOSCO). For its part, the Sudanese delegation expressed its interest in activating aspects of cooperation between the two countries in terms of exchanging supervisory information and experiences. During the meeting, a brief presentation by Omran was made on the latest developments in capital market activity in Egypt, including new laws and updates on existing ones. The presentation started with the fundamental amendments made to the Regulations of Capital Market Law No. 95 of 1992, and the amendments made to the rules of listing in the Egyptian Stock Exchange in preparation for receiving the proposals of large companies and facilitating the registration of projects with large assets.
