Egypt bourse’s market cap rises $2.7bn in August despite monetary tightening

Egypt bourse’s market cap rises $2.7bn in August despite monetary tightening

RIYADH: Egypt’s stock exchange saw its market cap rise by a record 51.8 billion Egyptian pounds ($2.7 billion) in August despite continued monetary policy tightening. The market capitalization of listed companies’ shares grew 8.2 percent to 685 billion Egyptian pounds from 633 billion by July end, a report by the country’s bourse showed. In terms of index gains, the blue-chip EGX30 index jumped by 5.6 percent during the month, gaining 531 points to 9,998 points at the end of August trading. The total value traded during the month reached 101 billion Egyptian pounds, with a total of 6.6 million securities executed. Stocks traded accounted for 55 percent of the total trading value on the main market while the remaining 45 percent were captured by bonds. Egyptians contributed 82.8 percent of the value traded in listed stocks, foreigners by 11.9 percent, and Arabs by 5.3 percent. The country’s stock market gains came amid ongoing economic challenges, with the Egyptian pound further devaluating against the dollar and soaring inflation. In August, Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi accepted the resignation of central bank governor Tarek Amer, who was appointed as governor back in 2015. Following his resignation, Amer was named a presidential adviser