Tunisia has ordered
its brokerages to suspend securities trading by 123 firms, sources
said, including Dubai’s Shuaa Capital and the parent companies of at
least two publicly listed Tunisian firms.
The firms were
named in a confidential list issued at the end of February by Tunisia’s
financial authorities. They are trying to pry loose the grip of
overthrown President Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali’s extended family on the
North African country’s economy. “We were told not to let these
companies invest or withdraw money from their trading accounts. Their
accounts are frozen,” a Tunis-based broker told Reuters.
The list, mostly
privately held Tunisian companies, was issued by Tunisia’s financial
markets regulator, Conseil de Marche Financier.
