{"id":649045,"date":"2017-04-20T04:06:08","date_gmt":"2017-04-20T04:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2017\/04\/20\/cabinet-approves-raising-cap-on-foreign-borrowing-to-usd-7-bn-from-usd-5-bn\/"},"modified":"2017-04-20T04:06:08","modified_gmt":"2017-04-20T04:06:08","slug":"cabinet-approves-raising-cap-on-foreign-borrowing-to-usd-7-bn-from-usd-5-bn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2017\/04\/20\/cabinet-approves-raising-cap-on-foreign-borrowing-to-usd-7-bn-from-usd-5-bn\/","title":{"rendered":"Cabinet approves raising cap on foreign borrowing to USD 7 bn from USD 5 bn"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> The Ismail cabinet raised the ceiling on the maximum value of USD bonds it can issue on <\/strong>international markets to USD 7 bn from USD 5 bn<\/strong>, according to a cabinet statement<\/a>. The statement added that Finance Ministry was seeking to obtain additional financing in the face of a rise in interest rates on the domestic market and to increase FX reserves held by the CBE. \u201cThe government\u2019s current trend is to replace domestic borrowing by external borrowing in order to reduce the cost of borrowing as local interest rates rise<\/strong>,\u201d Reham El Desoki of Arqaam Capital told Reuters<\/a>. The decision comes amid expectations of a bond issuance worth USD 3-4 bn at the end of this year, announced by Deputy Finance Minister Mohamed Maait last week<\/a>. About USD 1 bn of that figure will be in the form of sukuks, Shariah-compliant bonds.<\/p>\n

Cabinet also approved a framework for sukuks yesterday<\/strong>: A framework for the issuance of sukuks for companies and government bodies was adopted as part of amendments to the Capital Markets Act approved by the cabinet yesterday. The amendments also include enforcing stricter penalties and fines for violations of the law, giving authorities the power to reverse trades if international money laundering is suspected, and creating a registry of firms authorized to issue fair value reports. The amendments also cover trading of futures contracts<\/strong> and give EGX room to set lower listing fees to attract smaller issuers.<\/p>\n

<\/a> Cabinet will allow the private sector to bid for as many as 45 full-service \u201cTakamol\u201d hospitals <\/strong>to the private sector<\/strong>. The proposal won approval at yesterday\u2019s cabinet meeting. The House Health Committee had rejected a similar proposal<\/a> from the Health Ministry last July, which would have seen the private sector participate in the development and refurbishment of 377 hospitals providing low-income families with access to comprehensive healthcare. The government is now dressing the idea as turning public clinics into advanced healthcare centers in a bid to downplay the dreaded \u201cprivatization\u201d word, according to ONA News Agency<\/a>. Other decisions taken during yesterday\u2019s meeting include:<\/p>\n