Egypt’s Samurai bonds issuance a success, finance minister

Cairo – November 2, 2023: Egyptian Minister of Finance, Mohamed Maait, has revealed that Egypt has successfully traded Samurai bonds worth ¥75 million (Japanese Yen), around $498.8 million. In an official statement by the ministry on Thursday, Maait explained that the five-year maturity bonds had an average yield of 1.5%.

The recent issuance is Egypt’s third, having offered its inaugural Samurai bonds back in March 2022, also issuing bonds worth $500 million which was, at the time, approximately ¥60 million.

The Samurai bonds, Japanese-yen-denominated bonds, are offered by foreign issuers on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, usually to hedge against foreign exchange risk.

Recently, Maait also announced the successful issuance of Chinese-yuan-denominated bonds called “Panda Bonds” worth a similar $500 million.

Egypt’s second Samurai bonds issuance has shed light on the economy’s resilience, and ability to achieve its objectives and handle internal and external shocks, attracting various Japanese investors, explained Ahmed Kouchouk, Deputy Minister of Finance for Financial Policies.

These foreign bond issuances are within the government’s framework and efforts to diversify its external financing sources and boost hard currency reserves.

Maait previously outlined Egypt’s target of obtaining between $1.5-2 billion in fresh financing, including $1 billion from Panda and Samurai bonds, by the end of 2023.

Egyptian authorities have placed an emphasis on its work to strengthen its foreign currency position, accelerating its privatization program and stake sales of state-owned assets to strategic investors, which has yielded up to $2.5 billion so far, according to Maait in a September statement.

Egypt’s external debt fell to $164.7 billion at the end of June 2023, compared to $165.3 billion at the end of last March, according to a CBE report earlier this week.