Banks working in the Egyptian market acquired 78.4% of the treasury bills the government issued until the end of last April, according to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE). In a recent report, the CBE said total outstanding balances of treasury bills amounted to EGP 512.984bn at the end of last April, of which EGP 402.308bn was acquired by the banks only. The CBE added that the investments of the governmental commercial banks in the treasury bills amounted to about EGP 193.642bn in April. The specialised governmental banks registered investments of approximately EGP 4.932bn only. The private banks' investments in the bills in the same month amounted to about EGP 183.221bn. The investments of the foreign banks branches working in the Egyptian market in these governmental securities amounted to around EGP 20.513bn. According to the CBE, in addition to the banks' direct investments in the governmental treasury bills, they invest in them indirectly, through the investment funds they own. The CBE explained that the investment of these funds in the bills reached approximately EGP 49.88bn until the end of last April. These investments acquire approximately 9.7% out of the total outstanding balances of the bills, until the end of April. The CBE added that the investments of the foreign investors in the treasury bills that the Egyptian government issues remain at their lowest levels since the January 25 Revolution. Last April, they registered approximately EGP 271m. The volume of foreign investments in the bills reached approximately EGP 53bn in December 2010. Source: Daily News Egypt
