By: Heba El-Kordy
Cairo – Mubasher: Yields on Egypt’s treasury bonds (T-bonds) sold in Monday’s auction fell to the lowest level since June 2018 as the Egyptian pound exchange rate against the US dollar jumped by around EGP 0.50.
Total proceeds from the T-bonds sale reached EGP 2.1 billion, EGP 880 million higher than the requested sum, data by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) showed.
The average yield of the five-year notes stood at 17.59%, marking the lowest level in seven months and a half, with EGP 1.16 billion in proceeds, according to the CBE.
Meanwhile, the average yield of the 10-year notes reached 17.99%, its all-time low since June 2018, with EGP 977 million in proceeds, the central bank highlighted.
On Monday, the CBE announced the issuance of EGP 1.25 billion T-bonds on behalf of the Ministry of Finance (MOF).
The issuance would be used to finance the budget deficit, the CBE said.
Egypt’s debt instruments, especially treasury bills, are attractive to foreign investors owing to their high yield. State-run banks are the largest holders of the government’s debt instruments.
Egypt aims to issue EGP 409.6 billion T-bills and EGP 101.6 billion bonds in fiscal year 2018/2019.
The CBE previously said that Egypt’s total foreign debt rose 2.3% quarter-on-quarter, or $1.8 billion, to $80.8 billion in the first quarter of FY17/18.
Translated by: Mai Ezz El-Din
