Egypt’s FRA mulls getting EGX-registered firms to include ESG in their annual reports

Chairman of the Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) Mohamed Omran is mulling to get the companies registered in the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX) to include environmental, social and governance (ESG) in their annual reports as ESG refers to the three central factors in measuring the sustainability and ethical impact of an investment in a company or business. These criteria help to better determine the future financial performance of companies.

He noted that this would be obligatory soon, underlining the importance of companies’s disclosure of the dangers and costs of climate change in their annual reports.

He said FRA is keeping in touch with the parties concerned to come up with a guide model to help companies abide by the FRA decisions.

He made the remarks during his participation in the Climate Week events on the fringe of meetings of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.Omran stressed that developed states should shoulder their responsibility in propping up developing countries to confront the dangers of climate change.

He also called on international climate change funds to allocate money for laying down programs for neutralizing climate change dangers in developing countries in order to avoid the rise of the earth’s temperature over 1.5 Celsius by 2050.

While taking part in the 10th anniversary of launching the Sustainable Stock Exchange (SSE) Initiative at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE),  Omran reviewed the efforts being exerted by  the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX) to promote sustainability principles.

He noted that EGX was among the five founding bourses of the initiative that was joined by over 70 bourses.

He referred to the FRA’s recent decision on the importance of the presence of a female representative at the board of the companies registered in the bourse.

He added that the bourse and the FRA have issued their sustainability reports.