The Egyptian stock exchange will announce in days, and probably in the coming week, a date for reopening, the state news agency quoted Prime Minister Essam Sharaf as saying on Saturday.

The exchange has been closed since January 30, early in the 18-day uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak. Prior to that, the main index had fallen 21 per cent since the start of the year.

An executive from index provider MSCI said on Friday Egypt must reopen its stock exchange by next Thursday to avoid the risk of exclusion from MSCI's emerging markets index.

Sharaf's statement came during a press conference following a meeting with the head of the Al-Azhar religious institution.-Reuters