Outstanding balance of treasury bonds reaches EGP 690.07bn at end of April Size of international bonds stabilizes at $11.5bn, government aims to issue more worth $1.5-2bn
The size of outstanding balances of treasury bonds in local currency owed by the government reached EGP 690.07bn as of the end of April 2017, next to other bonds issued on global money markets worth $11.5bn, according to the Ministry of Finance. The ministry indicated in a recent report that there are two types of bonds issued in Egyptian pounds, the first being coupon-yield bonds, worth around EGP 662.6bn, at an average rate of return of 14.247%, due between 10 June 2017 and 5 July 2026. These bonds were offered from 12 February 2008 until 6 September 2016, and their interest rates range between 9.15% and 17.2%. The second type, zero-coupon bonds, recorded a balance of EGP 27.4bn, maturing between 2 May 2017 and 3 April 2018. The average interest rate on these bonds is between 11.822% and 16.514%, averaging 12.675%. Zero-coupon bonds were offered between 3 November 2015 and 4 October 2016. The largest investors of treasury bonds and bills are banks operating in the Egyptian market. The government puts forward treasury bonds and bills on a regular basis to cover the state budget deficit. Treasury bonds and bills are offered through 15 banks, which are the primary dealers in the primary market. These banks resell a portion of these bills and bonds in the secondary market to retail investors, as well as to local and foreign institutions. In the same context, the Ministry of Finance noted that Egypt's bonds on international markets stabilised at $11.5bn by the end of April 2017. The maturity profile of these bonds is between 1 and 30 years, repayable between 1 June 2017 and 31 January 2047, with an average rate of return of 6.416%. On 10 November 2016, the Ministry of Finance had issued three bond offerings worth $4bn in a London Stock Exchange offering, and in January 2017 the ministry offered another $4bn in bonds. In addition to those bonds, there are four offerings on international markets worth $3.5bn. The government has recently unveiled plans to raise another $1.5bn-2bn in bonds over the next few days.
