Purpose: This study aims at testing efficiency of the Egyptian stock market at semi-strong level through exploring the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on Egyptian stock returns.Design/methodology/approach: The author applied the “Event Study” method that addresses the impact of a particular event or group of events on stock returns, from 12 September 2019 to 5 April 2020, choosing Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX) 100 companies which constitute constitutes the highest-level 100 companies in terms of liquidity and activity.Findings: The study found inefficiency of the Egyptian stock market at the semistrong level, as the declaration of the COVID-19 has a negative insignificant effect on stock returns, whether on the day of the declaration, before or after it, The underlying reasons for these results can be referred to the idea that can be explained that investors are noise trading when making their investment decisions.Research limitations/implications: There are two limitations to the interface of this paper. The first one is the short-term impact of COVID-19, using 141 days, and then it is not clear in the research the long-term impact of events related to the epidemic. Secondly, because the author deals with a short period term, the author does not test the characteristics of the company or any other major events that may affect the stock returns of the companies under study.Originality/value: This adds to the finance literature on the impact of the COVID-19 announcement on stock returns in the context of African countries. The explanation of the interconnection of the COVID-19 announcement on stock returns in Egypt.

This study investigates how the Egyptian stock market responded to the 2024 devaluation of the Egyptian Pound (EGP) and evaluates whether price adjustments reflect semi-strong form market efficiency. Using daily data for EGX30 firms, we estimate abnormal returns around the devaluation announcement and document largely insignificant market-wide reactions, indicating weak evidence of semi-strong efficiency. However, notable cross-firm heterogeneity emerges export-oriented and foreign-revenue-generating firms showed greater resilience, while companies dependent on imported inputs experienced sharper declines. These findings highlight how differences in currency exposure shape firms’ sensitivity to exchange rate shocks in emerging markets with recent dual-rate dynamics. From a practical perspective, the results emphasise the importance of transparent policy communication during major currency adjustments and underline the need for investors to account for firms’ FX risk profiles when constructing portfolios in devaluation-prone environments. The findings also offer insights for regulators seeking to strengthen disclosure practices and improve informational efficiency in the Egyptian capital market.

This paper aims to study the intellectual development and mechanisms linking financial technology (FinTech) and financial inclusion (FI). It also analyzes publication trends, journals, and authors that are most relevant; institutions and countries that are most productive; and finally determines research gaps. Drawing on 927 peer-reviewed articles indexed in the Scopus database from 2011 to 2025, selected via PRISMA, we use VOSviewer (version 1.6.20) and the Biblioshiny interface of the Bibliometric R-package to map publication dynamics, influential authors, country contributions, and co-occurring themes. The results of this study highlight the increasing global interest in FinTech and FI since 2018 across various fields. The results indicate that FI is the central theme around which other topics revolve, with Peterson K. Ozili as the most influential researcher, Sustainability as the top-publishing journal, and China and India as the leading countries in total research output. Furthermore, thematic cluster analysis shows that the literature portrays FinTech as a factor that enables FI by providing financial services to marginalized groups; however, the literature shows that there is a theoretical and policy gap in the necessity of integrating them into financial systems to achieve sustainable development. This paper provides a bibliometric review of the financial literature evaluating the relationship between FinTech and financial inclusion. Furthermore, it presents current knowledge for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers seeking to understand how digital finance relates to inclusive and sustainable development.

Purpose –This paper is a review of the theoretical literature of cash holding. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 48 articles was published from 1934 to 2020 in the Scopus database using “cash holding theory”. Findings – Although numerous studies have examined various issues of cash holding, they have produced mixed and inconclusive results. Research limitations/implications – As with any review paper, as any new research is published, the current article will become less recent, and there is also a major limitation of some papers being excluded. Originality/value – The paper will also give the reader Important research facts on the topic of cash holding.