2023 was a challenging year; obvious geopolitical and economic turmoil impacted the macroeconomic factors. However, it is noteworthy that all indicators of the Egyptian Exchange reached unprecedented levels. EGX30 index (Main Index) raised by 70.53 % compared to 22.17% in 2022 while EGX30 TR index reached an increase of 76.5 % compared to 27.31% in 2022, the most indicative hike was EGX70 index by 95.3% while index EGX100 increasing by 90.1% compared to 27.35% in 2022
Market capitalization 2023 increased significantly to a new historic level reaching EGP 1.72 trillion, compared to EGP 961 billion last year, representing 16.9% of GDP—the highest since 2017.
The total trading values reached a new historical level of EGP 3.42 trillion, such remarkable increase came in light with the 90% increase in trading value of listed shares which amounted to EGP 664 billion, compared to EGP 349 billion in 2022.
Additionally, the largest daily number of transactions in the listed and OTC markets (21m transactions) ever recorded. The average daily number of traded investor reached 20.3 thousand in 2023, which is a significant increase of 98% compared to 10.3 thousand investor in 2022.
During the first 9 months in 2023 percent of profitable companies listed on the main market witnessed an increase 87%, compared to 81% in 2022 and 77% in 2021. EGX witnessed a remarkable upsurge in capital increases, reaching an unprecedented figure since 2019. The total amount reached EGP billion 49.9, marking a substantial 65% increase compared to 2022. Global financial markets have one of the worst downturns because the geopolitical events.
Generally, the global and regional economic and political circumstances, along some challenges in the domestic economy, such as the devaluation of the EGP vs the USD and high inflation rates, all lead to increasing the interest rates. As a result, there has been a noticeable decline in the ratio of foreign to local investors in the market compared to previous years.
Despite these challenges, investors sought to safeguard the value of their money in a trail to face the high inflation rates by turning to investing in traditional physical and financial assets such as real estate, gold and deposits. A big portion of such funds is now being directed towards the Egyptian Exchange.
EGX achieved many goals that were outlined last year: -
•EGX achieved a significant milestone in activating trading on treasury bills in the secondary market via the exchange's screens. This marked the initiation of a new phase in line with the Egyptian Exchange's strategic objective of serving the national economy. This development was accomplished through collaboration among stakeholders, including the Central Bank of Egypt, the Ministry of Finance, the Financial Supervision Authority, and Egyptian Central Securities Depository (ECSD).
•The Egyptian Exchange successfully transferred the settlement of Egyptian treasury bonds from the "Misr for Central Clearing, Depository and Registry" (MCDR) to the ECSD.