Egyptian stock exchange administrators decided Monday night to extend the suspension of trading until Sunday, although it had been scheduled to reopen on Tuesday.
Head of the stock exchange Khaled Siam said in an exclusive statement to Al-Masry Al-Youm on Sunday that the delay should allow brokerage firms to implement the government-set controls required so they can receive financial support from the Ministry of Finance to help them overcome credit problems.
He added that investors who have had trading permits annulled for failing to submit national identity cards have asked for an extension of the submission deadline so that they will be able to trade when the exchange reopens.
The bourse shut down 230,000 investors' permits as they had registered through passports and other data.
Al-Masry Al-Youm learned that the decision to further suspend trading came after a lengthy meeting with brokers to discuss their problems. The meeting lasted five hours, ending at 9PM Monday.
Dozens of securities brokers and stock market investors demonstrated in front of the exchange building on Monday to protest the decision to resume trading on Tuesday. They demanded a delay to prevent their money evaporating upon resumption of trading.
The stock exchange has been closed since 30 January due to Egypt’s popular revolution which began on 25 January and ended former president Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule on 11 February.
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.
