It is definitely the Finance Ministry’s week in the spotlight. We learned yesterday that Egypt expects foreigners to buy as much as USD 10-11 bn of local debt, but, as expected, the eurobond issuance will all begin with a roadshow this week in which Egypt will be looking to raise USD 2-2.5 bn, as reported by Bloomberg. The majority of the eurobonds will come with five- and ten-year maturities but “a small portion” will carry a 30-year tenor. “Getting to [USD 10 bn] will happen gradually and with reassurance that the measures of the economic reform programme are happening gradually and in a sound manner … The more people see that we are achieving good results in our reform programme, the more they will be interested in investing so it is possible, within a year, to reach those levels [of USD 10-11 bn],” El Garhy said. The minister had said he was targeting USD 6 bn in eurobond sales in 2017 and the government will not limit itself to USD-denominated borrowing, but that it could also include yen- and yuan-denominated bonds (so it is a good time to brush up on your knowledge of Samurai and Panda bonds).

Tags: