Egypt's FRA approves 12 firms, including two custodians and a SPAC investor
The regulator also ordered non-bank lenders to file monthly data and reopened its platform until 29 October so firms can audit entries since January.
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Egypt's Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) has approved 12 new companies and entities across the non-bank financial sector, including two custodians and a venture capital vehicle set up to take stakes in special purpose acquisition companies, it said in a statement published on 5 October.
A week later the regulator ordered non-bank financing companies to file monthly activity data on its electronic platform and reopened the platform until 29 October so that firms can correct everything they have entered since January, a second statement said. Together the two decisions widen the market's infrastructure while tightening the data the authority collects from the firms it supervises.
Who was licensed
In capital market activities, the FRA licensed Lantis for Portfolio and Investment Fund Management to carry out portfolio management, investment fund management and securities underwriting promotion. It approved the incorporation of the Taj Misr Tourism Real Estate Asset Investment Fund Company and the Taj Misr Real Estate Fund Company as real estate investment funds, together with a related brokerage, underwriting and real estate fund management company, the statement said.
The authority also licensed the Al-Ahli Group Green Agriculture Investment Fund and approved the establishment of Al-Manzlawy Venture Capital to acquire equity stakes in SPACs. In custody, MNT Tech Holding Company for Financial Investments and Azimut Investments Egypt received licences to act as custodians, which the FRA said would reinforce investment services and capital market infrastructure.
Outside the capital market, three debt collection firms were registered, taking the number of registered collection companies to 11, and Care Plus Medical Care received a temporary licence as a specialised health maintenance organisation. It is the second entity to hold a temporary licence in that activity, which is newly regulated under the Unified Insurance Law No. 155 of 2024, the FRA said.
The approvals were issued on the recommendation of the FRA's Incorporation and Licensing Committee, which reviews initial and final approvals, new activities, branch changes, amendments to statutes and liquidation requests. The authority's mandate covers capital markets, futures exchanges, insurance, mortgage finance, leasing, factoring, securitisation and consumer finance.
Monthly data, and a deadline of 29 October
Under Circular No. 7 of 2026, non-bank financing entities must submit the previous month's activity data on the FRA platform between the 1st and the 15th of each month, and must check it for accuracy, completeness and consistency with their records before filing, the circular announcement dated 12 October said.
On an exceptional basis, the platform reopened on 12 October and will stay open until 29 October so that firms can complete outstanding submissions and audit all data recorded since 1 January 2026. FRA chairman Islam Azzam said in the statement that the requirements "strengthen regulatory and supervisory capabilities across non-banking financial markets" by allowing precise analysis of performance indicators and early detection of risks.
The circular follows Decree No. 2684 of 2026, effective since 24 September, which requires consumer finance companies to build the IT infrastructure needed to connect their databases to the FRA's central system. The decree requires real-time access to data on newly approved clients, consumer purchase transactions, product categories, borrowers' credit performance and repayment behaviour, and key measures of the companies' own solvency, the FRA said.
New institutions, tighter reporting
The licensing round adds capacity at the institutional end of Egypt's market, with new custodians and fund managers, while the data rules move consumer finance and other non-bank lenders towards continuous reporting. The authority said full compliance supports its strategy of integrating company databases with its central system so that it can publish more accurate market indicators to participants.
For firms that fall behind, the immediate test is the 29 October deadline for cleaning up 2026 data. After that, filing will move to the regular monthly cycle set by the circular.