CBE to issue $1.7B in T-bills Sunday

CAIRO – 19 November 2018: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), on behalf of the Ministry of Finance, is set to issue $1.675 billion in treasury bills with a 364-day term on Monday.

On Sunday, CBE issued LE 18 billion in T-bills, which was offered in two installments; the first installment is valued at LE 9.5 billion with a 91-day term and the second is worth LE 8.5 billion with a 266-day term.

For the current fiscal year, the budget deficit is estimated to record LE 438.59 billion, or 8.4 percent, planned by the ministry to be financed through treasury bills and bonds and through international and Arab loans.

Foreign investments in the Egyptian government debt instruments recorded $23.1 billion by the end of March 2018, up from about $20 billion in December.

Egypt needs to fund 2018/2019 budget by LE 714.64 billion; LE 511.21 billion will be provided by domestic debt instrument and the rest will come from foreign financing through the issuance of bonds and the IMF loan.

In November 2016, the Executive Board of the IMF approved a $12 billion loan as a financial assistance to Egypt to support the Egyptian economic reform program.

Upon the board's approval in November, Egypt floated its currency, losing around 50 percent of its value, as part of the economic reform program which imposed taxes, including the value-added tax (VAT), and cut energy subsidies, all with the aim of trimming the budget deficit.