Egypt is considering issuance of Masala bonds worth $50M in 2024

CAIRO – 5 December 2024: The Egyptian Minister of Finance, Mohamed Maait announced plans to issue bonds denominated in Indian Rupees, known as Masala bonds, at a value of up to $500 million next year, in a media interview on the sidelines of COP28.

Maait said that its looking to diversify its financing tools, markets, sources and bonds and he also stated that he hopes to raise between $500 million and $1 billion through sustainability bonds in 2024. He also stated that the ministry has plans to issue another sukuk, panda and samurai bonds in 2024 but he didn’t specify more details.

Egypt succeeded in offering the first ever issuance of sovereign Islamic with a value of $1.5 billion, with the subscription value amounting to about $6.1 billion, meaning that the subscription was 4 times oversubscribed in Feburary 2023.

The sukuk saw attracted more than 250 investors in various global financial markets across Gulf countries and East Asia, in addition to European countries and the United States of America.

Finance minister also stated that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) confirmed its interest in increasing the amount of financing provided to Egypt.

The IMF is close to financing the Egyptian economy, IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, announced that during her interview with Asharq Bloomberg. Georgieva was asked if the program would advance during the first quarter of 2024, to which she responded: "Yes, soon."