Egypt Postpones Short-Selling Until Market Conditions Improve

Egypt’s stock market regulator postponed introducing short-selling until “market conditions improve,” Ashraf El Sharkawy, chairman of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority, said today.

“It’s not under consideration now,” he told reporters in Cairo. “It wouldn’t make sense to start it considering current market conditions.”

Egypt’s benchmark EGX 30 Index fell 23 percent last quarter, bringing its decline for the year to 41 percent after the Arab nation ousted its president in February. Mohamed Abdel Salam, the Egyptian Exchange’s former chairman, said in June the exchange planned to introduce short-selling in July.