President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi appointed, on Sunday, Mohamed Farid as acting chairperson of the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) for a one-year term, effective on 7 August. Farid is taking over the position from Mohamed Omran, who has been at the FRA's helm for the past five years and was given a one-year extension on his term in office on 8 August 2021. Farid has been the chairperson of the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) for five years. Ahmed Abdel Rahman, the Vice-Chairperson of the EGX, was named acting chief of the EGX. Well-informed sources told Daily News Egypt that Mohammed El Sayyad, the Assistant Chairperson of the EGX for Listing Affairs and Listing Sector Supervisor, is expected to be appointed as the vice-chairperson of the FRA, alongside Reda Abdel-Moaty and Hisham Ramadan, the current vice-chairpersons of the authority. Moreover, Ahmed Rostom, head of experts in the competitive finance sector for the West Africa region at the World Bank, was nominated to lead the Egyptian Exchange. During his tenure in the FRA, Omran issued the first comprehensive strategy for the development of non-banking financial activities (2018-2022). It focused on keeping the authority in the ranks of international bodies. The authority won the award for the most innovative and creative regulatory authority in Africa in 2018. In addition, the FRA was selected by the United Nations to chair the Advisory Group of the Financial Market Regulatory Bodies in the same year. Moreover, Egypt was re-elected as head of the Developing and Emerging Markets Committee (GEMC), was also re-elected for the fourth time as a member of the Executive Committee of the International Organization of Pension Fund Controllers (IOPS) for the years 2022 and 2023. The authority also joined the regional advisory group for the Financial Stability Board (FSB) for the first time in its history.
