Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait has affirmed that the current global economic challenges, including the rise in the cost of financing and the increasing uncertainty among investors, showed that Egypt’s decision to diversify financing tools and sources was right.
He added that the Egyptian vision also worked to direct them to feasible projects and initiatives that have contributed to improving infrastructure in an unprecedented manner that has become more attractive and stimulating to private sector investments, which helps push economic activity in a way that is reflected in the threefold doubling of the size of the Egyptian economy.
During the past six years, rates have exceeded the rates of government indebtedness to the gross domestic product, and the simultaneous provision of millions of job opportunities.
Maait said, during his participation in the “Eleventh African Organization for Accounting and Finance” conference, organized by Al-Nahda University, that Egypt has become on the map of sustainable financing for the green economy by diversifying environmentally friendly sources of financing, as we issued the first public offering of sovereign green bonds in the Middle East and North Africa, with a value of $750m in September 2020, which contributed to attracting new investors who prefer investing green, and we are preparing to issue the first sovereign sukuk offering whenever the international market conditions improve; to attract a new segment of investors who prefer financial transactions that comply with the principles of Islamic Sharia. This contributes to providing the necessary funding for investment projects listed in the economic and social development plan in the state’s general budget.
He indicated that we aim to cooperate with the Japanese side to issue “samurai green” bonds, after we succeeded in launching the first issuance of “samurai” bonds in the Japanese market, with a value of JPY 60bn, in a way that attracted many Japanese investors, as it met with great demand. This indicates their confidence in the Egyptian economy and its ability to achieve its goals in light of the current global economic repercussions, pointing out that the coming period will witness joint cooperation with the Chinese side to issue “panda” bonds in yuan in the Chinese market. We are also studying the issuance of sustainable development bonds to finance initiatives with a social dimension.
Maait affirmed that Egypt, with its wise political leadership, is always keen to gather the African brothers to exchange views and crystallize a unified vision on various issues of common concern so that Africa speaks with one voice in all international forums, in a way that contributes to strengthening continental integration efforts in facing challenges through exploitation and optimizing self-resources and fruitful cooperation in providing financing needs and innovative tools necessary to achieve development goals, especially with regard to climate issues.
