Cairo – Mubasher: Egyptian finance minister Amr El-Garhy announced that the EUR 2 billion bond sale had been oversubscribed 3.8 times with total orders valued at EUR 7.5 billion.
More than 350 investors from 35 countries across the world have participated in the issuance, the minister remarked.
It is worth noting that 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
The bond sale has reflected the confidence of the international financial institutions in the capabilities of the Egyptian economy amid the country’s economic reforms, El-Garhy said.
The issuance has been oversubscribed with significant prices that exceeded all Euro-denominated bond sales issued by the North African nation since the beginning of 2018, he indicated.
He further noted that 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 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.
In March, El-Garhy had announced plans to issue eight-year and 12-year EUR 1.5 billion bonds.
