CAIRO - While some Egyptian brokers criticised a decision by the authorities to further delay the restart of the country's Stock Exchange as undercutting investor confidence, others asked for the bourse to stay shut until the Government establishes a fund to guarantee stability. The Egyptian Exchange, shuttered for over a month, was to resume trading. But in an overnight statement, exchange officials said the market would reopen on March 6. The decision triggered protests outside the offices of the bourse from those who thought it was high time for restart the market doors and another protest in the same place by others who ask for a longer delay. "The stock should stay shut until the Government establishes a public fund, only for Egyptians, to support the market upon its opening," suggested Mohamed Gamal, a trader in the market. Gamal added that the proposed fund should be managed by the Egyptian Government as everyone can be a shareholder even through paying one pound. "The national feeling should be exploited to help the economy," said Gamal, who expected the fund to collect around LE10 billion, in case banks, companies and individuals take part in such campaign. Afaf Abbas agrees. "The stock market could be a way for the corrupt businessmen to flee the market," Abbas said. The administration of the Stock Exchange said it delayed its planned reopening until Sunday so it can refine measures to support thousands of small investors caught out by collapsing shares prices during the country's political unrest. "Exchange officials and the regulator are unable to agree with brokerage firms over how money from a compensation fund would be distributed," a bourse official said. The decision to delay the restart of the market reflected the strong undercurrent of unease in Egypt, where the market's benchmark stock index had shed almost 17 per cent in two consecutive trading sessions before it closed at the end of the business day on January 27. Mohamed Moustafa, a broker, lashed out at the extended shutdown. "Any stock market in the world should be based on free, easy access to the market through buying and freer exit of the market through selling at any time. This is missing in Egypt," said Moustafa. The exchange's closure was repeatedly extended as protests in Egypt gained momentum demanding Hosni Mubarak's ouster. Even after he was pushed from power, the suspension continued as massive labour strikes gripped the country and banks closed for a week. "No doubt, the delay is certainly eroding investor confidence, and we're losing credibility by the day in international markets," Karim Helal, managing director of brokerage CI Capital, told AP. "If the decision is to allow the market to absorb losses, it won't make a difference. It will just make it worse." To allay concerns about a panic sell-off, market officials set up safeguards to ensure that the broader EGX100 index would not collapse in one session, including setting up so-called trading circuit-breakers that would halt trading in the case the index shifted by 5 per cent and then 10 per cent. The Government, already facing a sharp economic blow from the expected downturn in tourism and foreign investment linked to the anti-regime unrest, said it would provide backing for smaller investors and brokerages.
