Khaled Seyam has been appointed as the new chairman of the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), replacing Maged Shawky, who has headed the bourse since 2005.

Seyam will take up the post on 15 July, the Investment Ministry said in a statement on 10 July. Shawky had asked to end his tenure by the start of the new fiscal year in July, the statement added.

Seyam currently serves as the deputy chairman of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority, the country’s financial services regulator.

Egypt’s benchmark EGX30 stock index has fallen 43 per cent since January 2008, but it has only dropped 2.9 per cent this year, compared with a 3.8 per cent fall in the global emerging market index.

With a market capitalisation of $90bn, the EGX has 213 companies trading a daily volume of about 150 billion shares.