Egypt has made its first foray into the bond market for the current financial year, which began 1 July, with a $2bn Eurobond. The Finance Ministry says Egypt hopes to raise $5bn during the current financial year, narrowing down earlier reports of $3-7bn plans (MEES, 13 September).
The Eurobond consists of a 40-year $500mn tranche with a yield of 8.15%, its longest-dated on record, $1bn of 12-year paper with a yield of 7.05%, and a four-year $500mn segment with a yield of 4.55%. The bond was seven times oversubscribed with book orders of $14.5bn “reflecting the strong market appetite for Egyptian paper boosted by recent economic and financial reforms,” a 14 November Finance Ministry statement says. Finance Minister Muhammad Maait adds that “the long-dated [40-year] tranche of the latest issue helps Egypt in extending the debt maturity and reducing the cost of debt servicing.” (CONTINUED - 296 WORDS)
