Egypt to offer $600m in dollar-denominated treasury bills

Doaa Farid
2 Min Read
Dollar increase against EGP leads to increase in food prices. (AFP photo)
The dollar-denominated t-bills, which were introduced by the CBE in November 2011, have reached $35.2bn in June 2012 and $46.9bn in June 2013, economic expert said. (AFP photo)
The dollar-denominated t-bills, which were introduced by the CBE in November 2011, have reached $35.2bn in June 2012 and $46.9bn in June 2013, economic expert said.
(AFP photo)

Subscribed Egyptian banks and foreign financial institutions will gain access to $600m as the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) will issue on 17 June one-year treasury bills, with the auction set for 16 June, Reuters reported on Sunday.

The weighted average yield was not announced.

Economic expert Ahmed Adam commented that issuing t-bills, a form of government debt, will contribute to raising the country’s foreign reserves over the long-term.

According to Adam, the dollar-denominated t-bills, which were introduced by the CBE in November 2011, have reached $35.2bn in June 2012 and $46.9bn in June 2013.

Treasury bonds are considered safe investments for banks because they are guaranteed by the government.

In January, the CBE accepted bids for $1.070bn worth of one-year dollar-denominated treasury bills.

The Ministry of Finance said in December 2013 that treasury bonds will comprise 30% of the government’s holdings in the third quarter (Q3) of the 2013/2014 fiscal year compared to 20% in Q2 2013/2014. It said that the total value of the government securities, a form of debt, will reach EGP 203bn in Q3, a fall from its second quarter value of EGP 206.5bn.

The timeframe for the releasing of treasury bonds with a less than one year maturity showed that July 2013 witnessed the highest rate of government borrowing in three years, after the government released EGP 81.5bn, according to the finance ministry.

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