Jordan-based Sigma Investments will partner with the Egyptian government to launch the region's first grains exchange by end 2016, the firm's chief executive said on Sunday in an interview. Egypt is the world's largest importer of wheat, purchasing about 10 million tonnes of the grain each year from global markets.
EGYCOMEX, Egyptian Commodities Exchange, with a proposed partnership of 20 percent government investment and 80 percent private investment, will trade spot and futures for grains, mainly wheat, as well as gold and oil, Sigma's Iman Mutlaq told Reuters.
"For the past three years, the Egyptian government has been working on the infrastructure for connecting silos and our visibility study showed positive results, especially with the government deciding to become our partner," Mutlaq said in an interview in Dubai.