BAHRAIN and Egypt are a step closer toward linking their stock exchanges following talks between officials from both markets, a newspaper said on Monday. Sameh al-Turjuman, chairman of the Cairo/Alexandria stock exchange, told the Gulf Daily News that efforts to implement a $20-billion-market capital agreement reached last September in Egypt are “encouraging.” But regulatory measures and ways to attract more foreign capital in both markets are still under review, he said after the talks in Manama on Sunday.Turjuman added that issues of transparency and disclosure laws — crucial to attract foreign investors — also need to be ironed out before the markets can be integrated.