The Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX) has launched a new project that is intended to facilitate the trade of Egyptian securities by international investors.
The FIX HUB project operates through connecting the EGX to the international Fidessa trading network, allowing investors to trade via a FIX gateway. FIX HUB was initially started a few years back with the aim of linking the EGX to the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Today, after signing two contracts with the Fidessa and ULLINK firms, the project connects the Egyptian market to a multitude of markets worldwide.
Fidessa’s network includes around 170 stock markets from the US, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, containing roughly 3600 partners in the field of financial services with approximately $800 billion worth of transactions being executed. ULLINK serves around 130 financial institutions in the Canada, the US, Latin America, South and East Asia and Europe.
Connecting the EGX to the FIX HUB is expected to have a positive impact on Egyptian market, especially by increasing liquidity while sidestepping the potential of violating the regulations of capital market.
The decision to choose ULLINK was made after a meticulous examination of several technical offers from technology firms. The network’s renowned reliability and its advanced connectivity solutions made it the most suitable choice. ULLINK has been in the market for more than 11 years and has considerable presence in the majority of the world’s markets.
The Egyptian stock Exchange “continuously thrives to support and improve the capital market products,” stated Mohamed Omran, head of the EGX. The FIX HUB, he added, will “enable member firms, investors, portfolio managers in different markets to trade via a secured communication network that is not expensive and thus will allow member firms to attract a large number of Arab and foreign investors.”
This initiative is the first in the Middle East, Omran added, emphasising that it “will not only increase the depth of liquidity on EGX and enable it to provide a value-added service to its members, but that it also reflects EGX’s vision to meet the challenges of an increasingly sophisticated and demanding global investment community.”
