Egypt Cabinet approves issuing second batch of $500 mln Samurai bonds

Ahram Online , Tuesday 24 Oct 2023

Egypt’s Cabinet approved issuing a third batch of $500 million Yen-denominated bonds, aka Samurai bonds, with a five-year tenor, according to a statement released on Tuesday.

Depiction of Samurai bonds. Stockphoto.
Depiction of Samurai bonds. Stockphoto.

 

The move is part of the government’s strategy to issue debt instruments to fund its budget deficit -- which accounted for six percent of its GDP in FY2022/2023.

The first two issuances of Samurai bonds were made in March 2022 and August 2023, each with a value of $500 million.

The government also issued last week the first sustainable Panda bonds in the Middle East and North Africa at ¥3.5 billion ($500 million) with a yield of 3.5 percent over three years.

Earlier this week, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said Samurai and Panda bonds will help narrow the government’s financial gap, which ranges between $6 and $8 billion for FY2023/2024.

With a total external debt of $165.3 billion, Egypt has to pay $71.6 billion in debt service in the coming three years, including $29.23 billion in 2024.

Egypt’s foreign assets deficit amounted to nearly $25.92 billion in August. The country seeks to collect $191 billion in annual US dollar revenues by 2026.

 

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