EGX: Egypt Issued Green Bonds worth $750 Million

Mohamed Farid, Chairman of the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX)  said that Egypt has issued green bonds worth $750 million, which are linked to projects that take into account many environmental dimensions.

This came during his speech at the closing session of the first Al-Masry Al-Youm Economic Forum, held under the title “The Egyptian Stock Exchange in Facing Challenges.”

He added that the stock exchange was a pioneer in 2010 when it produced a special index with Standard & Poor's to list companies that have the three dimensions of sustainability, social responsibility and corporate governance most committed to the three standards, explaining that two years later the stock exchange joined the United Nations and was one of the founders of the United Nations Initiative.

"There are many who believe that impact investing is sustainability, but the truth is that it is not, because sustainability is a set of goals prepared at the level of the United Nations that set 17 standards in various aspects, part of which is In creating job opportunities, part related to the environment, and another to education, and other topics," he added.

He pointed out that projects and companies that aim to achieve the best practices and applications of sustainability are usually the same projects and companies that take into account in the exercise of their economic activity the dimensions of the social impact of their activity.

He added that gender balance means increasing the rate of women's representation on the board of directors to ensure a persity of ideas. And that some studies from international institutions showed the superiority of companies that have persity in representation over their counterparts from a financial perspective.

The Egyptian Stock Exchange is one of the leading emerging exchanges that issued an index that includes in its components the companies most committed to sustainability standards, namely environment, governance and social responsibility, a type of shares preferred by some international investment funds and institutions for its influential social and environmental role.

He explained that listing in stock exchanges allows investors to monitor the performance of various companies, especially the most committed to sustainability standards, as the capital markets play a major role in helping companies adhere to standards of governance and disclosure.