Egypt may issue international bonds worth as much as $11 billion within a year, the amount almost double the previous target, as the government seeks to reduce its cost of funding and narrow the budget deficit.
Egypt boosts overseas bond sale, plan as much as $11 billion
Finance Minister Amr El-Garhy on Sunday in Cairo said the government will start by issuing $2 billion to $2.5 billion -denominated bonds, A marketing roadshow will run begining on January 17, state media reported. El-Garhy told Bloomberg in November he was eyeing $6 billion of sales in 2017.
Egypt has been paying yields of about 20 percent on domestic T-bonds and T-bills since the central bank raised interest rates on November 3. In addition to dollars, the government may also issue yen- and yuan-denominated bonds as it seeks to reduce costs, the finance ministry said last month.
Egypt almost doubles a planned overseas bond sale to as much as $11 billion https://t.co/uwT1hZPnTg pic.twitter.com/j0mu1ZgmZW— Bloomberg (@business) January 15, 2017
The government also lifted the budget deficit target for the fiscal year that began on July 1 to 10.2 percent of gross domestic product, from the previously announced 9.8 percent, El-Garhy said. It was 12.2 percent last year. The ratio dropped to 5.1 percent in the first half from 6.2 percent in the same period a year ago.
The investor-entrepreneur relationship in the North African country has been something of a roller coaster, but some say they are finally starting to iron out the bumps after a long learning process.
A15 investment director Tamer Azer believes the relationship between investors and entrepreneurs in Egypt has suffered in the past few years.