Chairman of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA) Sherif Samy said the amendments on the executive regulations of the capital market, which are expected to be approved by the parliament, will enable charitable funds to invest freely without adhering to specific investment schemes.
The cash funds will have the right to invest in stocks, deposits, or debt instruments such as treasury bills, bonds, and other assets, Samy said in a special statement to Daily News Egypt.
He said executive regulations will prohibit listing the cash funds in the stock market, like other funds of which their securities are sold and bought through brokerage firms.
These executive regulations manage the mechanism work of the charitable funds, which have become common in Arab markets like Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
The regulations prohibit and distribute the returns on the securities owners’ investent, since they are donors, while having the right to approve how the profit will be spent through charitable activities and projects.
Consequently, the securities owners will act as a supervisory entity on the charitable funds’ activities, which allows more transparency in the spending process especially under those funds declaring a clear budget and periodic disclosures about any developments.
According to Samy’s previous statements, these funds are expected to share the tax exemption privileges given to charitable organisations. Some markets, such as Bahrain, allow turning charitable funds into charitable organisations.
