EGYPT Trends and Developments Contributed by: Mohamed Hashish, Heba El Abd, Mariam Rabie, Mohamed Selim and Abdelaziz Mohamed, Soliman, Hashish & Partners
concentration” and fulfils the financial thresholds, pro - vided that the concerned persons with the economic concentration exercise one of the activities under FRA’s supervision, namely securities and capital mar - kets, insurance, reinsurance or insurance brokerage activities, mortgage finance activities, financial leasing activities, securitisation and factoring activities, and microfinance. It is worth noting that in early 2026, the Senate approved a draft new Antitrust Law introducing amendments to the current Antitrust Law, which has been approved in principle by the House of Repre - sentatives. This new Antitrust Law, which is expected to be issued soon, will replace the current Antitrust Law. The key features of the amendments to be made include, inter alia, transferring the affiliation of the ECA so that it becomes an independent regulatory body with a public legal personality, reporting directly to the President of the Republic instead of the Prime Minis - ter. Further, the new draft grants the ECA the power to impose administrative financial sanctions without having to obtain a court ruling. Fintech It is worth noting that fintech was newly introduced in 2020 in Egypt as part of the issuance of the new Banking Law No 194 of 2020 with the purpose of pro - moting financial inclusion and the digitalisation of the financial sector in Egypt. However, the applicability of obtaining a fintech licence for the banking sector is still pending the issuance of further regulations in this regard by the CBE. Fintech has since been further regulated in the non-banking financial services (NBFS) sector by the issuance of the new Fintech Law No 5 of 2022 and its Executive Regulation (“Fintech Law”), which facilitate the integration of technologies into NBFS and the regulatory framework for the licensing scheme for such services from the Financial Regu - latory Authority (FRA). These services include, inter alia, insurtech, microfinance, robo-advisory, artificial intelligence, mobile applications and digital platforms. In July 2023, the CBE issued regulations regarding the licensing and regulatory framework for digital banks in Egypt, which shall effectively allow for the establishment and operation of digital banks, in an effort to support innovation and transformation of the
digital economy, whilst representing an important step in aligning with global developments in the financial technology industry. Furthermore, in 2024, the FRA issued Decree No 57 of 2024, which establishes the rules for regulating the operation of robo-advisers for investment. A robo- adviser is an electronic system that provides financial advice to clients for the purpose of creating, manag - ing, and rebalancing an investment portfolio using AI algorithms. The FRA highlighted that portfolio man - agement companies are now authorised to provide automated investment advice via robo-advisers. It is also worth noting that in 2024, the FRA issued Decree No 140 and 148 of 2024, establishing Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) in Egypt, and has recently approved the first application for a SPAC, which is defined as a company licensed by the FRA solely to raise cash funds, through an initial public offering, for the sole purpose of acquiring or merging with an operating business within a specific timeframe. Moreover, the FRA issued Decree No 227 of 2025, which sets out requirements for companies and enti - ties licensed to conduct non-banking financial activi - ties to strengthen their technological infrastructure and cybersecurity. These entities must submit policies and governance frameworks for information technol - ogy (IT), cybersecurity and risk management to the FRA, and conduct annual tests, with the reports sub - mitted to FRA. The FRA also issued Decree No 279 of 2025, estab - lishing a registry for companies that provide techno - logical systems for risk assessment in the non-bank - ing financial sector. It requires that only companies listed in the registry can offer risk assessment services to licensed non-banking financial entities, sets the requirements and conditions for registration in the reg - istry and imposes ongoing reporting and compliance obligations to the FRA, thereby enhancing oversight and standardisation of technology-driven risk evalua - tion in Egypt’s non-banking financial sector. In 2026, the FRA issued Decree No 28 of 2026, requiring companies licensed to carry out consumer
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