Cairo – Mubasher: Egypt has sold eight-year and 12-year Euro-denominated bonds at a combined value of EUR 2 billion through two tranches with a yield of 4.75% and 5.625%, respectively.
This bond sale has been the best by Egypt so far as it lured several investors, finance minister Amr El-Garhy said in a statement.
El-Garhy had completed a roadshow for the planned offering in a three-day tour this month, with the participation of deputy finance minister Ahmed Kojak and assistant minister of finance for capital markets operations Khaled Abdelrahman.
During his tour, which took place from 3-6 April, the minister met with 80 investors from Europe and the US, as well as experts in fixed-income security, the statement highlighted.
Proceeds of the sale will be directed to bolster the Arab nation's foreign reserves at the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), while the equivalent cash amount in Egyptian pound will be used to finance the state budget, the minister said.
The bonds are one of the financial instruments that boost diversification of the basket of currencies at the CBE as interest rates in the European market cost less than in Egypt and the US, he noted.
The bond issuance was lead-arranged by BNP Paribas, Intesa Sanpaolo, Deutsche Bank, and Standard Chartered, while National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr acted as the sale’s co-lead arrangers, the statement indicated.
In March, El-Garhy had announced plans to issue eight-year and 12-year EUR 1.5 billion bonds.
