Egypt plans to issue between USD3 billion and USD7 billion worth of international bonds in the first quarter of the year, said Egyptian Minister of Finance Mohammed Moeit.
The cabinet has given “us the flexibility to issue what we need within this range” and also flexibility regarding the currencies, Moeit said in an interview on the sidelines of an investor conference in Cairo.
Bloomberg also quoted him as saying that the government plans to sell the bonds in a range of currencies including the dollar, euro, yen, and the yuan.
The Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) latest data in March 2018 showed that 30 percent of the foreign debt is to international funding institutions and around 27 percent is related to short-term debts and securities, including international bonds.
The seasonally adjusted Emirates NBD Egypt Purchasing Managers’ Index™ (PMI) – a composite indicator designed to give an accurate overview of operating conditions in the non-oil private sector economy – rose from 49.2 in November to 49.9 in December. The index was at a four-month high, moving closer to the 50.0 mark that separates expansion from contraction.
According to the research, the annual average PMI scores have improved from 46.0 in 2016 (Egypt entered into its IMF-sponsored reform program) to more than 49 this year.
Meanwhile, Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr said that business opportunities in Egypt are promising, assuring investors about a friendly climate that is guaranteed by law and encouraged by incentives.
Addressing a conference on investment in the Middle East and North Africa region Sunday, Nasr talked about economic stability in her country, as well as an integrated investment map that would help the private sector pump even more money into the market.
The government believes the private sector can contribute to achieving comprehensive economic development, Nasr said. She told the gathering that 70 percent of the jobs in Egypt are withing the private sector.
According to Nasr, sustainable economic development is the result of effective cooperation between the private and public sectors, which materialized in giant projects in the country.
