FRA Board Extends the Grace Period

On 29 September 2019, the Board of Directors of the Financial Regulatory Authority (“FRA”) issued Decision No. 129 of 2019,[1] extending the grace period granted to listed companies to offer their securities on the Egyptian Stock Exchange (“EGX”) for an additional period of six months that ends on 31 March 2020. It is noteworthy that the rules for listing and delisting securities on the EGX were originally regulated by a decision issued by the FRA Board No. 11 of 2014, which has been amended many times since then. One of these amendments, issued in April this year under FRA Board Decision No. 32 of 2019,[2] stipulated that companies that listed their securities on the EGX prior to the effective date of FRA Board Decision No. 122 of 2017 (i.e., 13 November 2017) but have not yet offered their securities on the EGX must obtain EGX’s approval in order to complete the offering procedures before 30 September 2019; otherwise, their listing will be automatically revoked. In order to encourage companies to offer their securities, the new decision extends this grace period until 31 March 2020, provided that the abovementioned companies submit to EGX a time plan for undertaking the offering before 30 November 2019.   [1] FRA Board of Directors Decision No. 129/2019 extending the grace period granted to listed companies that have not yet offered their securities at the Egyptian Stock Exchange, available through this link (in Arabic). [2] FRA Board of Directors Decision No. 32/2019 amending Decision No. 11/2014 on the rules for listing and delisting securities on the Egyptian Stock Exchange, Egyptian Gazette, Issue No. 93, 21 April 2019.