Egypt eyes $2B Samurai bonds soon

cairo — Egypt intends to issue $2 billion worth of Japanese yendenominated bonds in the coming week, two government sources said, part of up to $7 billion in planned foreign bond offers.

Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said his ministry had received cabinet approval for $3 billion to $7 billion of foreign bond offers. He did not say what currency bonds would be sold in or specify the time frame, though he said Egypt was looking “to diversify currencies, products and markets to find good financing alternatives”.

“The ministry has got approval from the cabinet to offer international bonds and the procedures have started,” Maait told reporters on the sidelines of an investment conference. “The value will not be less than $3 billion and will not exceed $7 billion.”

Egypt has borrowed heavily from abroad since it began an economic reform programme backed by the International Monetary Fund in late-2016.

Maait said in December that Egypt was aiming for at least two foreign currency bond issues in the first quarter of 2019.

Egyptian officials have previously said Japanese yen and Chinese yuan were two of the currencies they were considering as the country looks to sell debt in currencies other than the euro and US dollar. —