CBE issues LE 1.2B in T-bonds Monday

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Mon, 17 Dec 2018 - 09:26 GMT

BY

Mon, 17 Dec 2018 - 09:26 GMT

FILE – CBE

FILE – CBE

CAIRO – 17 December 2018: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), on behalf of the Ministry of Finance, issued LE 1.2 billion in treasury bonds on Monday, Dec. 17.

The T-bonds were offered in two installments, with the first valued at LE 750 million with a five-year term and the second worth LE 500 million with a 10-year term.

Earlier in 2018, Egypt canceled bids for treasury bills four times, each worth LE 3.5 billion, amid calls to raise its interest rates.

The Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee kept interest rates unchanged for the fourth time this year during September meeting, setting the overnight deposit rate and the overnight lending rate at 16.75 percent and 17.75 percent, respectively.

For the current fiscal year, the budget deficit is estimated to record LE 438.59 billion, or 8.4 percent, planned by the ministry to be financed through treasury bills and bonds and through international and Arab loans.

Egypt targets an average interest rate on the government debt instrument of 14.7 percent in the current budget, compared to an expected average of 18.5 percent in 2017/2018 budget.

Foreign investors’ investments in the Egyptian government debt instruments recorded $23.1 billion by the end of March 2018, up from about $20 billion in December.

Egypt needs to fund 2018/2019 budget by LE 714.64 billion; LE 511.21 billion will be provided from domestic debt instrument and the rest will come from foreign financing through the issuance of bonds and the IMF loan.

In November 2016, the Executive Board of the IMF approved a $12 billion loan as a financial assistance for Egypt to support the Egyptian economic reform program.

Upon the board's approval in November, Egypt floated its currency, losing around 50 percent of its value as part of the economic reform program which imposed taxes, including the value-added tax (VAT), and cut energy subsidies, all with the aim of trimming the budget deficit.

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