Cairo - Mubasher: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said that foreign investments in debt instruments increased during the second quarter of fiscal year 2016/2017, according to a report issued on Wednesday.
Foreign purchases totalled $631.7 million during the three-month period that ended on 31 December 2016, versus net sales of $10.3 million in the same quarter the year before.
Egyptian debt instruments increased by 10% in 2016, as treasury bonds and bills issuances totalled EGP 1.136 trillion compared to EGP 1.022 trillion in 2015.
Returns on treasury bills exceeded the level of 20% in Thursday’s auction, with an increasing demand from foreign investors due to the rise in interest rates and foreign exchange gains.
Foreign exchange assets in the Egyptian banking sector surged 1,065% last year, as it amounted to EGP 200.4 billion ($10.9 billion) compared to EGP 17.20 billion ($934 million) by the end of 2015.
