Egypt to issue $4-5B Eurobonds next week: Min.

CAIRO – 4 February 2018: Egypt will issue its anticipated dollar-denominated Eurobonds next week, Finance Minister Amr el-Garhy said Sunday.

The Eurobond, which will raise $4 billion to $5 billion, was initially slated for the end of January.

In December, Egypt selected five banks to arrange the Eurobond issuance. The banks are J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Citibank, HSBC and First Abu Dhabi Bank.

Egypt issued $7 billion in Eurobonds sales in January and May 2017 on the global bond market, both of which were oversubscribed, according to the Ministry of Finance.

Egypt had embarked on a bold economic reform program that included the introduction of taxes, such as the Value added tax (VAT), and cutting energy subsidies, with the aim of trimming the budget deficit.

The country has floated its currency in November 2016, after which it clinched a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Egypt is to receive a fourth disbursal of that loan, worth $2 billion, in June or July, the Finance Ministry said in previous statements, bringing the total it has received to $8 billion. The IMF agreed in December 2017 to the third disbursal, also worth $2 billion.