EGYPT Trends and Developments Contributed by: Mohamed Hashish, Farida Rezk, Omar Aboul-Ella and Mariam Rabie, Soliman, Hashish & Partners
global developments in the financial technology industry. Furthermore, in January 2024, the FRA issued Decree No 286 of 2023 (the Decree) regarding the rules and procedures for the establishment and licensing of emerging financial technology companies to engage in non-banking financ - ing activities. The Decree applies to a variety of non-banking financing activities, including, inter alia, real-estate financing, consumer financing and factoring. The Decree stipulates the condi - tions required to enable the incorporation of a non-banking financing company, as well as the procedures for obtaining the required licence to engage in their activities. Additionally, in November 2024, the FRA issued Decree No 163 of 2024 regarding the establish - ment and operation of the testing platform of the FRA in accordance with the Fintech Law, which stipulates that the FRA shall establish a regula - tory testing platform or sandbox within which licence applicants for non-banking financial activities can test their fintech products in a live regulatory environment with real consumers, for a specified period, ahead of offering them to cli - ents, under the supervision and oversight of the FRA. Accordingly, the Decree has established the aforementioned testing platform, allowing start-ups practising non-banking financial activi - ties to test their fintech solutions for the purpose of supporting and facilitating the entry of smart start-ups into the market, enhancing regulatory understanding of fintech and improving regu - latory practices in support of sustainable and inclusive financial growth. Furthermore, in 2024, the FRA issued Decree No 57 of 2024, which establishes the rules for regulating the operation of robo-advisers for investment advice. A robo-adviser is an elec -
tronic system that provides financial advice to clients for the purpose of creating, managing, and rebalancing an investment portfolio using AI algorithms. The FRA highlighted that portfolio management 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 estab - lishing 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 fund, through an initial public offering, for the sole purpose of acquiring or merging with an operating business within a specific timeframe. Data Protection In 2020, Egypt introduced the Law on the Pro - tection of Personal Data No 151 of 2020 (“Data Protection Law”), which regulates personal data that is processed electronically. Prior to the issu - ance of the Data Protection Law, data protection was only governed by the Constitution, the Penal Code No 58 of 1937 (the ”Penal Code”) and Law No 175 of 2018 on Anti-Cyber and Information Technology Crimes (the “Cybersecurity Law”). The Data Protection Law is a reflection of the European General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) (GDPR), as it aims to establish various standards and rules that safe- guard data protection and the rights of individu - als in Egypt. However, the Executive Regulations of the Data Protection Law have not been issued to date. There are certain types of personal data that are not subject to the Data Protection Law, including, inter alia, data held by the CBE. It is worth noting that the Data Protection Law applies to any controller, processor or han - dler (natural or juristic) of personal data. It also
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