Egypt is expected to sell between $3 billion and $4 billion in bonds in three tranches on Thursday with maturities of four, 12 and 30 years, two sources with knowledge of the deal said. Egypt's economy has been pressured by the novel coronavirus pandemic, which has shut down its tourism sector, a key source of foreign revenue. Egypt gave initial price guidance for the four-year tranche at around 6.25%, the 12-year bonds around 8.125% and the 30-year notes around 9.375%, a document from one of the banks leading the deal showed. The deal comes after the International Monetary Fund said earlier this month that it had approved $2.77 billion in emergency financing for Egypt to weather the pandemic. As of Wednesday, Egypt had reported 14,229 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 680 deaths. The government has taken steps to contain the outbreak, including a night curfew and the closure of cafes and mosques, but has stopped short of imposing a full lockdown as it seeks to keep the economy going. Egypt hired BNP Paribas, Citi, HSBC, JPMorgan and Standard Chartered to arrange the debt sale, which is expected to close later on Thursday.
