Chairman of the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), Islam Azzam, affirmed that investing in financial technology has become a strategic necessity, revealing that the EGX’s technology investments grew by around 100% over the past year, while spending on cybersecurity increased by nearly 40% during the same period.

 

Speaking during the main panel at The Market 2.0 Conference, organized by the Bahrain Bourse in cooperation with the Arab Federation of Capital Markets, Azzam said the EGX has focused recently on upgrading its new core trading platform, scheduled for launch in 2026, alongside the development of more than 10 essential support systems to enhance operational efficiency across technology units.

 

The conference brought together CEOs of Arab stock exchanges, senior market regulators, and financial industry leaders from across the region.

 

During the session, Azzam highlighted several modern systems rolled out to boost liquidity and deepen the market, including the government debt instruments trading system, the international depository receipts framework, and the EGX Gate application, which offers an advanced digital experience for investors.

 

He added that the EGX continues to move forward with plans to launch its financial derivatives market, which requires extensive technological upgrades, in addition to expanding the use of digital applications among brokerage firms, supporting financial inclusion and accelerating digital transformation in Egypt’s capital market.

 

Azzam concluded by stressing the importance of building strong internal technology teams, noting that around 18% of EGX employees currently work in IT-related departments, reflecting the sector’s strategic importance to the operations of the Egyptian Exchange.