Delays loom in deal with Egypt bourse

ISTANBUL

Borsa Istanbul announced that delays are expected in its partnership process with the Egyptian Stock Exchange in a written statement Aug.22. The announcement comes two days after an Egyptian government official said Egypt was likely to freeze talks on a proposed joint index covering the Egypt and Istanbul stock markets that had been due to launch in September.

“We expect some delays in the partnership building process with the Egyptian Stock Exchange due to recent developments in Egypt,” the Borsa Istanbul statement said.

Bourses inked deal in 2012

The two stock markets inked a memorandum of understanding in 2012. In accordance with this agreement, the technical components of the partnership process were recently completed.

In order to prepare the markets for the partnership, brokerage companies from each country were supposed to allocate sources to the project by inking bilateral agreements. To this end, Borsa Istanbul representatives recently visited Egypt.

“Some delays will occur in the planned timeline of the partnership project due to the latest developments in Egypt. The two bourses will continue with their regular contacts to evaluate the latest developments,” the Borsa Istanbul said.