CAIRO (Update1) - Egypt's Stock Exchange will re-open Wednesday, the official Middle East News Agency Monday quoted Cabinet spokesman Magdy Rady as saying. The Exchange has been closed for more than seven weeks because of the political turmoil that led to the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak on February 11. The Government has several times promised to reopen it, only to delay the start of business. The Exchange's benchmark index EGX30 plunged 16 per cent in the two days the Exchange was open after anti-Mubarak protests erupted on January 25. The decision followed taking the necessary measures to secure “safe re-opening and easy trading”, according to Radi. Prime Minister Essam Sharaf had received a report from a special advisory council on the Exchange, that included senior economic and monetary experts led by Hazem el-Bablwi, an advisor at the Arab Monetary Fund, which recommended the opening of the Bourse. Meanwhile, Sharaf Monday tasked Chairman of Misr for Central Clearing, Depository and Registry Mohamed Abdel-Salam with supervising the Exchange for the coming six months, assuming all powers of the market's chairman, besides his original post. Abdel-Salam replaced Khaled Serry Siam, who resigned last week as Chairman of the Stock Exchange.
