An employee counts U.S. dollars in a foreign exchange office in central Cairo, Egypt. AFP
Kouchouk said the government aims to diversify its financing tools, reduce borrowing costs, attract new investors, extend debt maturities, and meet the country’s financing needs more efficiently. These measures are intended to manage Egypt’s debt at a lower cost and over a longer repayment period.
The minister added that Egypt has seen growing demand for five-year bonds, along with interest from international investors, as yields on global bonds have declined by around four percent.
Egypt is also planning to issue retail bonds for individual investors at an undisclosed date, Kouchouk said during the ninth edition of the Capital Markets Summit.
Other government plans include reducing the external debt of budget entities to around $1-2 billion annually in 2026 and decreasing overall debt in cooperation with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).
Reducing the debt-to-GDP ratio to below 75 percent within three years is also a priority, as macroeconomic indicators improve and exports and domestic production increase.
International credit rating agency Fitch Ratings recently raised its outlook for Egypt’s economic growth from 4.9 to 5.2 percent for FY2025/2026. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised its growth forecast for Egypt to 4.5 percent, up from 4.3 percent.
During a recent meeting with CBE Governor Hassan Abdalla, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva praised Egypt for implementing a challenging reform programme in recent years but warned that global debt levels are rising rapidly, nearing 100 percent of global GDP.
She noted that higher debt servicing costs are limiting investment in skills development.
The IMF board is expected to meet in the first quarter of 2026 to consider the $8 billion EFF loan programme and the first review under the $1.3 billion RSF loan agreement.
Egypt issued a $2 billion international bond in January 2025, its first since 2021, to help cover an estimated $10 billion financing gap for FY2024/2025. The bonds were issued in two tranches with five- and eight-year maturities, offering indicative yields of 9.25 percent and 10 percent, respectively.
In November 2025, Egypt completed its first sovereign sukuk issuance for the domestic market, raising EGP 3 billion through the primary dealer system with a three-year maturity, providing Sharia-compliant investment options.
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