Foreign investments in local debt rise in May: Foreign investments in Egypt’s t-bills sat at USD 37.5 bn (EGP 1.8 tn) by the end of May, up USD 2.5 bn from USD 35.2 bn (EGP 1.7 tn) in April, according to the central bank’s monthly statistical bulletin (pdf).

Remember: Investors have been loving Egypt’s short-term debt instruments post-float, with their confidence affirmed after the likes of JPMorgan and Citigroup recommended buying one-year EGP t-bills.

But we’re not sure if the trend will persist: Earlier this month, foreign investors sold some USD600 mn worth of local debt instruments — 7-8% of total foreign investment in the market, according to Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly — amid a global sell-off that wiped USD 6.4 tn from global stock markets.

The CBE has since auctioned off fresh debt instruments: The central bank auctioned off fresh EGP-denominated t-bills between Thursday and Sunday, which raised a combined EGP 71.0 bn, according to data from the bank. The bank does not disclose how much of the amount raised came from foreign investors.

Yields on three-month t-bills hit a fresh five-month high: The three-month t-bills sold had an average yield of 29.06% — their highest since mid-March when the economy was still finding its footing after the float of the EGP and the bank needed to auction off bills at extremely high yields to reel investors in.

And there’s a lot more to come: The bank will be issuing t-bills with tenors of three, six, nine, and twelve months a week from today. The bank is looking to raise EGP 115 bn from the auctions.

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