** #1 Egypt caps foreign borrowing at USD 16.7 bn this fiscal year: The government has apparently set a foreign borrowing cap of USD 16.733 bn for FY2018-19, according to a government document obtained by Reuters on Thursday. Egypt will have to borrow USD 10.51 bn this fiscal year to meet external debt payments, with total external government debt expected to reach USD 98.863 bn in FY2018-19. This comes as the government prepares to issue foreign currency-denominated bonds later in the year or early next year and announce the details of its debt control strategy, according to statements attributed to Finance Minister Mohamed Maait by Reuters. Sources had previously told us that Egypt was considering RMB- and JPY-denominated issuances and others had told Bloomberg that the state was considering EGP-denominated issuances on the international market. Egypt’s foreign debt stood at USD 92.64 bn at the end of FY2017-18.

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