Egypt Financial Regulatory Authority Chair Islam Azzam said regulated short selling will begin within weeks, following completion of the centralized securities lending system and full technical links between Misr for Central Clearing, Depository and Registry and brokerages. Market participants have also received practical training on the system. The launch will implement the authority’s recently issued framework, which establishes governance, transparency and investor protection rules for short selling.

The mechanism forms part of a broader capital market overhaul that included the launch of the derivatives market in March, futures contracts on selected major stocks and authorization for hedge funds to use short selling and derivatives. The authority is also prioritizing market making following its exemption from stamp duty and is considering additional incentives to support institutional investment alongside planned offerings of major state-owned companies. The reforms come as second-quarter trading exceeded EGP 6.4 trillion, up 78.3% from a year earlier, while new investor registrations surpassed 171,000 by the end of the quarter.

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