Government hikes foreign borrowing ceiling

CAIRO – 20 April 2017: Egypt’s government specified $7 billion as a maximum ceiling for the issuance of the international bonds globally, according to a cabinet statement on Wednesday.

“The cabinet decided to add another $2 billion to the maximum limit of international bonds, previously set at $5 billion,” the statement said.

In January, Egypt successfully issued $4 billion in Eurobonds on the global bond market, the largest issuance in Egypt and Africa.

Increasing the ceiling aims at obtaining more funds, to meet the increasing interest rates on the local market, and boosting dollar reserves in the Central Bank, according to the statement.

Foreign reserves amounted to $28 billion in March, recording the highest rate since March 2011. Reserves before the 25 January Revolution in 2011 amounted to $36 billion.