Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has launched Sunday treasury bills worth 13.25 billion Egyptian pounds ($749 million), in coordination with Ministry of Finance to fund the county's budget deficit. The bank announced that the first tranche of 91-day treasury bills reached 6.5 billion pounds, which the second tranche of 273-day treasury bills registered 6.75 billion pounds. Egyptian debt instruments attract a large number of foreign investors, notably treasury bills, as the return on bonds exceededs. Cost of debt surged 30 percent to about 316.6 billion pounds during the financial year 2016/2017, compared with 243.6 billion during the financial year 2015/2016. The finance ministry reported a 51 percent increase in treasury bills and treasury bonds issues for the second quarter of financial year 2017/2018.
