Egypt planning Asian market bond launch to pay down debt
Egypt is readying a road show to promote its international bonds in Asia, after three failed bond auctions in 2018 in European markets.
CAIRO — Egypt is hoping to appeal to Asian investors by issuing so-called Samurai bonds in Japanese yen and Panda bonds in Chinese yuan.
The Egyptian Ministry of Finance officially announced Feb. 3 that it will launch the bonds in Asian markets in February or March. The ministry has yet to reveal the value of the Egyptian bonds in Asian currencies, the details of the banks that are expected to issue them or even the bonds’ intended interest rates.
They are, however, part of a package of euro- and US dollar-denominated bonds with a total value between $3 billion and $7 billion. Egyptian Finance Minister Mohamed Mait announced that package in a Jan. 13 statement.
With the anticipated proceeds, Egypt is looking to bridge the financing gap in its public budget, which is set to be drafted in July. Officials said at the end of December that the state budget deficit was expected to reach 440 billion Egyptian pounds ($25 billion) at the end of the current fiscal year in June 2019.
