Egypt’s Cabinet approved issuing a third batch of $500 million Yen-denominated bonds, aka Samurai bonds, with a five-year tenor, according to a statement released on Tuesday.
The move is part of the government’s strategy to issue debt instruments to fund its budget deficit — which accounted for six percent of its GDP in FY2022/2023.
The first two issuances of Samurai bonds were made in March 2022 and August 2023, each with a value of $500 million.
The government also issued last week the first sustainable Panda bonds in the Middle East and North Africa at ¥3.5 billion ($500 million) with a yield of 3.5 percent over three years.
Earlier this week, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said Samurai and Panda bonds will help narrow the government’s financial gap, which ranges between $6 and $8 billion for FY2023/2024.
With a total external debt of $165.3 billion, Egypt has to pay $71.6 billion in debt service in the coming three years, including $29.23 billion in 2024.
Egypt’s foreign assets deficit amounted to nearly $25.92 billion in August. The country seeks to collect $191 billion in annual US dollar revenues by 2026.
Source: Ahram Online
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