A number of Arab investors began to consider investing in cryptocurrency after the recent gains, not to mention the bitcoin that peaked at $19 thousand per unit by the end of last year, according to Arab Exchange Market (AEM) Sec-Gen Fadi Khalaf.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of the Capital Markets Summit in Cairo on Tuesday, Khalaf stated that the future of cryptocurrency in the world will be great, and the Arab region will join the wave.
He pointed out that the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) has signed an agreement with the US-based blockchain company Ripple to help participating banks in the kingdom use its enterprise software to instantly facilitate cross-border payments.
The partnership will potentially transform how banks in the Kingdom send money globally, while allowing bank customers access to faster, cheaper and more transparent cross-border transactions.
Khalaf indicated that Emirati banks are aiming for similar agreements, adding: "the cost of remittances is about 60 percent lower than cash transfers."
Based on last year's performance, Saudi stock market ranked first in the circulation of shares among Arab markets by about 42 percent, while Egypt came in second place by about 40 percent, followed by the UAE, indicated Khalaf.
The Sec-Gen stressed the importance of achieving a link between Arab stock markets, noting that the union called for that in 2012, but "the political turmoil after the revolutions of the Arab Spring and the decline in oil prices, prevented that".
During the summit, Egypt's Investment Minister Sahar Nasr reviewed the government's reforms to improve the business environment and promote private sector participation.
"We have prepared a wide range of laws regulating investment, especially in the non-banking financial sector," she said.
Nasr added that the ministry is coordinating with the Financial Supervisory Authority to provide new financial instruments to help finance the investment, pointing out the government's program of proposals.
"The government has formed a committee comprising of the Central Bank and the ministries of investment, finance and business," indicated Nasr.
For his part, head of Misr Makkasa, Mohamed Abdul Salam, said the legislative amendments to the new investment law is imposed on all companies registration in the central depository.
The latest amendments to Egypt’s Capital Market Law, recently approved by parliament, are credit positive for the country’s banks, according to a statement issued by the credit rating agency Moody’s on Monday.
According to the statement, the amendments will improve and deepen Egypt’s financial markets and investors’ ability to hedge, making the country a more appealing investment destination for foreign
investors.
The amendments are also credit positive for banks because the increased capital markets activity will raise banks’ income from their debt capital markets business while also providing funding options.
