Mohammed Omran, the chairman of the Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority, has promised to set up a Regional Centre for Sustainable Finance, subject to approval by the country's Cabinet, for use by investors. Meanwhile, each company - including each private bank - will have to issue an ESG (environmental, social and governance) report, presumably as a subset of its larger annual report.

The RCSF, once set up, is to produce a database of 'sustainable' investments to help companies (including wealth managers but excluding private banks) to make decisions about investments. Media reports suggest that there will be some kind of compulsory edge to the use of the database.

Omran told reporters: "It is time to move from making recommendations to implementing operational steps on the ground." He also said that listed companies are going to have to divulge the risks and financial costs associated with climate change in their annual reports. According to the FRA's website, his organisation is going to require women to be represented on the boards of listed companies.