Egypt to Approach Banks Soon for Bond Sale of Up to $7 Billion
Egypt to Approach Banks Soon for Bond Sale of Up to $7 Billion
(Bloomberg) -- Egypt will approach investment banks “very soon” to advise on a plan to raise between $3 billion and $7 billion from international debt markets by June, a Finance Ministry official said.
The so-called request for proposal is being prepared and will be sent to banks imminently, Deputy Minister of Finance Khaled Abd Elrahman said Monday in an interview in Cairo. He didn’t give more specifics on the timeline.
The government is taking advantage of lower borrowing costs amid signs the world’s major central banks may cut interest rates or deliver a fresh salvo of monetary stimulus to shore up economic growth. The new offering could include Egypt’s first Panda, Samurai, sukuk and green bonds -- as well as euro- and dollar-denominated bonds.
Egypt wants “to diversify its debt instruments and currencies,” Finance Minister Mohamed Maait told reporters earlier Monday. The yield on the North African country’s dollar debt due 2029 fell to about 6.3% last week, the lowest level since the securities were priced in February.
Egypt was able to return to global bond markets in 2017, lowering its borrowing costs overseas as domestic rates soared amid a far-reaching economic reform program. The government is now seeking to vary its instruments and gradually move toward longer-term credit to reduce the burden for one of the Middle East’s most indebted countries.
Maait said Monday that foreign holdings in Egypt’s Treasury bills and bonds currently stand at about $20 billion.
--With assistance from Netty Ismail.
To contact the reporter on this story: Mirette Magdy in Cairo at mmagdy1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net, Michael Gunn, Paul Abelsky
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