Egypt repays $1.36bn worth of international bonds in December
Outstanding bonds worth $18bn and €2bn due within 30 years
Egypt will repay $1.36bn worth of international bonds on 10 December out of the total issued bonds on international markets of $18bn and others worth €2bn, according to the ministry of finance.
These bonds were issued on 10 November 2016.The bonds’ coupon interest rate reached 4.62%, the ministry explained in a report.
Egypt’s balance of issued dollardenominated bonds on international markets increased to $18bn at the end of February 2018, with maturities ranging from one year to 30 years, starting from 10 December 2018 to 21 February 2048. According to the report, the bonds’ interest rates vary from 4.622% to 8.5%, with an average of 6.726%. Other bonds worth €2bn were also issued by the ministry on 16 April 2018 over two tranches.The first was €1bn with a 4.75% yield and are due in April 2026.The second tranche had the same value with 5.625% yield and are due in April 2030.
On 21 February 2018, the ministry issued bonds worth $3bn, including bonds of $1.25bn with a maturity of five years and are due on 21 February 2023. Other bonds worth $1.25bn were issued with a maturity of 10 years and are due on 21 February 2028, in addition to $1.5bn worth bonds with a maturity of 30 years and due on 21 February 2048.
The Tourism Minister, Rania AlMashat, expected that the tourism sector will contribute 15% of Egypt’s gross domestic product (GDP) this year, according to Reuters.
Al-Mashat stated that Egypt, as a tourist destination, still has a lot to offer, pointing out that the Grand Egyptian Museum, which will be completed in 2020, will be a distinctive symbol of Egyptian tourism.
The number of visitors have increased by around 40% year-overyear at the end of September. “If the trend continues it will mean annual tourist numbers will top 10 million for the first time since 2012, compared with 7.5 million in 2017,” Al-Mashat declared.
In Swept ember, Egypt was named the fastest growing tourist destination by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
Former head of Egyptian Tourism Federation, Elhamy Al-Zayat, informed Daily News Egypt that choosing Egypt as the fastest growing destination was expected due to the severe decline that happened in 2016. “When comparing the bad results of tourism in 2016 to this year’s, we will see a great shift,” Al-Zayat said.
Following the 2011 revolution, the tourism sector suffered severely, but the worst period was in 2016, after the crash of the Russian passenger flight over Sinai late October 2015, he added.
Al-Zayat explained that recovering tourism requires launching an epic marketing campaign to promote it.
“We exerted substantial efforts in developing hotels and airports, and now we need to focus on promotion campaigns,” Al-Zayat said.
Al-Mashat said earlier that the number of tourists visiting Egypt jumped by 30 % during the first quarter of 2018, compared to the same period of 2017, noting that tourism now represents 15% of Egypt’s total income.
AL-ZAYAT EXPLAINED THAT RECOVERING TOURISM REQUIRES LAUNCHING AN EPIC MARKETING CAMPAIGN TO PROMOTE IT