Egypt is seeking to issue additional green and sustainable bonds, Maait

Cairo – November 21, 2023: Egypt’s Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait shared that the country is seeking to further diversify its financing resources and looks to issue additional green, sustainable, and low-cost financing packages to provide financing for mass and sustainable transportation projects, health, education, agriculture, food, and other projects to improve the lives of citizens.

Maait also emphasized Egypt’s successful issuances of various bonds - foreign-currency-denominated and green – highlighting the country's impressive achievements in diversifying its financing sources and tools to enhance the lives of its citizens.

During the Emerging Financial Markets Committee meeting under the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) on Tuesday, the minister shared details of the country’s bond issuances and its pursuit to diversify and gain further sustainable financing.

Maait explained that the bond issuances reflect the country’s ability to diversify financing sources and tools, despite global economic challenges resulting from geopolitical tensions, and its eagerness to expand its base of international investors.

Egypt issued the MENA region’s inaugural green sovereign bonds in 2020, worth $750 million, Maait explained adding that the country was also the first to issue Chinese Yuan-denominated “Panda bonds” in the region.

The green sovereign bonds issuance in 2020 positioned the country as a significant regional player in green and sustainable finance for climate action.

Maait highlighted that the Panda bonds enabled Egypt to tap into the Chinese financial market, securing 3.5 billion Chinese yuan, equivalent to $500 million, at an attractive interest rate of 3.5 percent annually over three years.

Demonstrating its versatility in the global financial landscape, Egypt returned to the Japanese market with its 3rd issuance of Japanese Yen-denominated Samurai-bonds in October, worth 75 billion Japanese yen ($500 million), securing a pricing agreement with a periodic return of 1.5 percent annually over a five-year maturity period.

The minister also emphasized the Ministry of Finance's remarkable success in securing green and sustainable financing from international banks through the green and Islamic financing segment. This collaborative effort involved the participation of 26 international and regional financial institutions.

Egypt's resilience in the face of global economic challenges is evident in its positive economic indicators during the fiscal year 2022/2023, as it recorded a primary surplus of 1.6 percent of GDP, and a total budget deficit drop to 6 percent of the gross domestic product compared to 6.1 percent in the previous fiscal year, Maait added.