The Egyptian government decided on Monday to re-open the Egyptian Stock Exchange on Wednesday after nearly 50 days of it being shut amid a popular uprising that forced former President Hosni Mubarak from office.
In a statement on Monday, Government Spokesman Magdy Rady said the decision came after all necessary measures had been taken to ensure a secure opening and smooth trading.
In the statement, Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf called on Egyptian citizens to contribute positively to the stock market after it is re-opened, to support the message behind the resumption of trade, and to preserve the Egyptian Stock Exchange as one of the country’s major economic institutions.
Sharaf had received a report from the Stock Exchange’s Advisory Council, which was recently formed under the chairmanship of Dr Hazem al-Beblawi, advisor to the Arab Monetary Fund, and which includes a number of senior economists as members.
On 26 and 27 January, the main stock index fell about 16 percent and stock market losses amounted to about LE70 billion, or US$12 billion.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
