Egypt to issue second round of Eurobonds in May

CAIRO – 25 April 2017: The government is planning to issue a second round of dollar-denominated Eurobonds worth $2 billion by mid-May, official sources told Al-Borsa newspaper.

The sources said the government is in talks with investment banks to discuss the state of foreign markets. “We still don’t know what to expect concerning the investors’ appetite for purchase, but all options are on the table including boosting the issuance to $3 billion or canceling it altogether,” the source said.

The bonds will be listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.

The issuance comes as part of the government’s bid to expand on external borrowing in order to reduce the cost of domestic borrowing, which amounts to 19 percent for short-term financial instruments.

Last week, the government hiked the maximum amount of dollar bonds it can issue on international markets to $7 billion, up from $5 billion.

In February, Egypt successfully issued $4 billion in Eurobonds on the global bond market, the largest issuance in Egypt and Africa. This comes as part of the government’s efforts to diversify its funding sources to help it bridge its financing gap.