Cairo: The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), headed by Islam Azzam, launched a training program aimed at preparing state-owned companies temporarily listed on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), marking the first national initiative to support the government's privatization and public offerings program through training and capacity building.
According to State Information Service Egypt, the program is being implemented through the FRA's training arms, the Financial Services Institute and the Egyptian Institute of Directors. It covers seven key areas: the legislative and regulatory framework governing the capital market, temporary and final listing procedures, financial and accounting readiness, governance and sustainability requirements, disclosure and prospectus preparation, public offering mechanisms, and post-listing obligations. The program features experts from the FRA, the EGX, and FRA-licensed offering advisers.
The initiative targets chairpersons and board members of state-owned companies, chief executive officers, chief financial officers, finance managers, disclosure and investor relations officers, governance and internal audit officials, and other executives responsible for listing and public offering files.
The FRA states that the program seeks to enhance the professional capabilities of participating companies, promote financial literacy, strengthen future business plans and financial and technical frameworks for public offerings, and develop a national pool of specialists in capital market offerings.
It is also designed to help companies meet EGX listing and offering requirements and implement best practices in governance and disclosure through a comprehensive training simulation covering a wide range of technical and professional topics.
Azzam emphasized that the readiness-building program reflects the FRA's integrated role in regulation, supervision, and awareness-raising to develop more efficient financial markets, particularly the capital market. He noted that the government's public offerings program would deepen and broaden the market while increasing its attractiveness through the listing and offering of some of the country's leading state-owned companies across diverse productive sectors, providing investors with a wider range of investment opportunities.
He also praised the close coordination with the State-Owned Companies Unit, headed by Hashem El-Sayed, highlighting joint efforts to transfer best practices and expertise to the targeted companies to accelerate their compliance with listing and offering requirements and ensure sustainable compliance after listing.
Azzam added that the program will not be limited to the 20 companies that have so far secured temporary listings on the Egyptian Exchange but will also be extended to other state-owned companies slated for public offerings in sectors including petroleum, mining, pharmaceuticals, tourism, construction, education, and manufacturing.
The first round of the program, which began on Sunday and runs for seven intensive training days, includes executive, financial, and managerial staff from 14 companies currently holding temporary listings on the Egyptian Exchange. Additional participants will join future training sessions.