Egypt to issue first green bonds by the end of this year

CAIRO – 24 September 2020: Egypt will issue the first annual green bonds worth about $ 500 million by the end of this year, Al-Maal news reported Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait in a media remarks on the sidelines of a press conference held at the Ministry headquarters on Tuesday.

 

 

The revenues of the bond issuance will be directed in eco-friendly investments such as using solar and wind power in producing electricity, besides green projects like establishing a monorail, he said, adding that the bodies that will be tasked with carrying out such projects are the Ministries of Environment, Planning, Transportation and Electricity.

 

 

Egypt is the first country in the Middle East and North Africa to issue such “climate bonds.” It has been reported that four international investment banks of Deutsche Bank, Citi Bank, HSBC, Credit Agricole were selected to promote the issuance, while HSBC, Credit Agricole were chosen to act as structural advisors for the issuance process, said Finance Minister Mohamed Ma’it in a statement in February 2020.

 

 

In her speech at a virtual meeting on the Green New Deal on September 19, 2020, Egyptian Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad said that her country is enhancing green funding in the national investments, according to a statement of the Ministry of Environment on Saturday.

 

 

Fouad said that the Green New Deal that pushes the world to focus on the development process should also help the counties pave the way for the coming generations to use the national resources and to enhance sustainability.

 

 

Fouad noted that during the COVID-19 outbreak, the government focused on the standards of sustainability in the green recovery plan, clarifying that the Ministry of Finance launched the green bonds to encourage the private sector to invest in green projects, besides funding the green businesses by the state.