By Mohammad Baali
Albawaba.com - Cairo
Several market experts are criticizing Egyptian small investors’ rush to get out of the market in the wake of Parliament’s interpellation session on alleged corruption at the bourse.
In the wake of lawmakers’ demands to question top government officials on alleged violations of market regulations, the general manager of Cairo National Brokerage Company told Albawaba.com that small investors were confused between the bourse management and the stock market itself.
“The referral of the matter to the prosecutor general does not mean the conviction of the stock market management, but simple people look at things superficially,” he said.
One analyst, who requested anonymity, said the questioning promoted by lawmaker Kamal Ahmed was nothing but a “political crackle.”
“The alleged violations which the lawmaker claimed are untrue. The only matter, which may be near the truth, is the issue of salary discrepancies, which is prevalent in both private and state-owned companies.
“What eases this problem is that the employees said to receive high salaries carry out all the administrative work at the stock market efficiently, helped by their expertise and high level of specialized education,” he said. “Furthermore, a member of the stock market board represents the general authority of the stock market (the only market supervisory body), and so the board cannot take any decision without its knowledge,” he added.
For its part, the Egyptian Portfolios Society, whose members include most of the companies traded at the stock market, recently issued a statement expressing its confidence in the present bourse management.
The statement hails the management for “positive developments and improvements” it has introduced into the Egyptian stock market.
