A comeback story: Egypt joins Pakistan, Nigeria, and Kenya as one of the once-unloved emerging markets that “lured” investors back into their local debt instruments with higher interest rates and liberalized exchange rates, the Financial Times writes. Egypt saw investors pour some USD 15 bn into local bonds this year, the majority of which came following the announcement of the Ras El Hekma agreement.

We’re still well off our peak: Foreign investors currently hold about one-tenth of our local debt — up from their 2022 lows, but still well below their peak in 2021, according to the FT.

It doesn’t come cheap: Egypt, Nigeria, and Pakistan are expected to spend over a third of their revenues on debt interest payments by 2028. On top of this, they could be forced to keep their interest rates elevated if the US doesn’t start cutting rates soon, keeping the cost of debt high.

ALSO- Earlier than usual heatwaves in Egypt have caught the attention of the foreign press, with Bloomberg reporting on how the country is heating up twice as fast as the rest of the world. As a “bellwether for the effects of climate change,” crop failure, heat-related deaths, and power cuts in Egypt offer a warning of what may be in line for other nations in summers to come.

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