EGX launches 1st shariah-compliant index

The Egyptian Exchange launched the EGX33, the first Shariah-compliant index in Egyptian bourse. It includes 33 companies that follow the principles of Islamic Law, representing 16 of the sectors listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange.

The new index includes companies listed in the EGX100 index that have a Sharia supervisory board, provided that they meet a minimum liquidity requirement accepted by the Sharia supervisory committee of the index. Additionally, these companies must meet all the qualitative criteria applied to other stock market indices.

A maximum weight of 15 per cent has been set for each company within the index in line with market participants’ requirements, especially investment fund managers who demand a benchmark index that aligns with fund investment standards, namely, “Investments in a single company should not exceed 15 per cent of the fund’s net assets, or 20 per cent of the securities of that company.”

Ahmed El Sheikh, head of the EGX, clarified that the start date for the EGX33 Shariah Index is January 1, 2022. “EGX33 Shariah Index was the best performing among the EGX  indexes during the period from the beginning of 2024 until now,” he said.

Attribution: EGX