Egypt’s Bourse Raised LE4 Bln In Q1 2015: Chairman

Egypt’s stock market raised LE4 billion in the first half of 2015 for six companies, but local and regional factors might take a negative toll on the rest of the year’s performance, Bourse chairman Mohamed Omran told a money and finance conference on Tuesday.

The amount raised in the first three months of 2015 amounts to twice that raised in 2014, a year that winessed IPOs of 13 companies worth LE1.9 billion.

The current year also saw the first listing of a state-owned company in ten years, MOPCO for fertilisers, while the listing of three petroleum companies is under negotiation.

However, investors have been shying away from the stock market with low turnovers seen in the past six months as a new capital gains tax raised concerns among share holders, and regional markets prove to be tough competitors, Omran said.

While the Kuwait stock exchange has cancelled taxes on foreign investors and the Saudi exchange has opened doors to foreign investors, capital gains taxes remian difficult to collect, Omran added.

Egypt’s stock exchange has fallen 3.94 percent since the beginning of 2015 down to 8575 points.

Source: Ahram Online