Maiden Panda bond sale coming this year? Egypt hopes to issue c.USD 500 mn of CNY-denominated bonds(panda bonds) in China before the end of the year, Vice Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk told Al Arabiya TV (watch, runtime: 8:34). There’s no “hard number” on the size of the issuance, which will be determined by market conditions, Kouchouk said. We broke the news earlier this month that the Panda issuance could happen “soon.”

How much does Egypt need to borrow this year? The government expected to need USD 5-6 bn in financing through the current fiscal year when it drafted the budget back in March, Kouchouk told the broadcaster. Bloomberg Asharq financial analyst Mohamed Adel, meanwhile, said yesterday that we’ll need USD 9.6 bn to meet foreign debt repayments coming due between now and the end of the fiscal year in June (watch, runtime: 4:35).

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