The Ministry of Finance said that the outstanding balance of local treasury bills (T-bill) and bonds was EGP 4.97trn in November 2023.
According to the latest report on its website, the Ministry said that the outstanding balance of treasury bills was EGP 2.760trn, with EGP 1.205trn in 364-day bills, EGP 224.429bn in 273-day bills, EGP 474.564bn in 182-day bills, and EGP 855.610bn in 91-day bills.
The Ministry said that bids for bills worth EGP 444.951bn were due in December, while the rest of the value is due from 2 January 2024 to 26 November 2024, noting that other bills with the same deadlines are re-offered weekly.
The Ministry also said that the outstanding balance of bonds by the end of November was about EGP 2.209trn, with EGP 83.695bn in “zero coupon” bonds and EGP 27.202bn in variable-return bonds.
The Ministry said that bids for bonds worth EGP 6.950bn were due in December, while the remaining value was due from 5 January 2024 to 18 January 2037, adding that other bonds are re-offered weekly, like bills.
Banks in the Egyptian market are the largest investors in treasury bonds and bills that the government offers periodically to cover the state’s budget deficit.
These bonds and bills are offered through 15 banks in the “primary dealers” system in the primary market, and these banks resell some of them in the secondary market to individual and local and foreign institutional investors.
Daily News Egypt obtained figures that showed that the government plans to borrow EGP 1.647trn from the local market in the third quarter of the 2023/2024 fiscal year, to pay previous debt instruments maturities and finance the state’s budget deficit.
According to the government’s plan, the Ministry of Finance aims to issue 52 bond tenders worth EGP 1.603trn, and 28 bond tenders worth EGP 44bn from January to March 2024, which reflects the government’s short-term liquidity need.
The Ministry of Finance also revealed the outstanding balance of Egypt’s foreign bonds until the end of November 2023.
It said that there are bonds in US dollars worth about $33.96bn, which were offered from 11 June 2015 to 28 February 2023, and mature from 1 March 2024 to 16 February 2061. Their interest rate ranges from 3.875% to 10.875%, with an average of 7.386%.
These balances include $1.5bn in three-year bonds, due on 28 February 2026, with a yield of 10.875%, and green bonds worth $750m, with a five-year maturity, due on 6 October 2025, and a yield of 5.25%.
The Ministry said that there are other bonds worth €4bn, which were offered from 16 April 2018 to 11 April 2019, and are due from 11 April 2025 to 11 April 2031. Their return rate ranges from 4.75% to 6.375%, and the average is 5.477%.
In addition, there are bonds denominated in Japanese yen amounting to about 60 billion yen, equivalent to $500m, which were offered on 31 March 2022 for five years, maturing on 31 March 2027. Their return rate is 0.85%. In addition, there are other bonds denominated in Chinese yuan. Their value is about 3.5 billion yuan, equivalent to $500m. They were offered on 16 October 2023, for 3 years, maturing on 16 October 2026, with a return of 3.510%.
Last November, Egypt managed to offer the second issue of Samurai bonds worth 75 billion Japanese yen, equivalent to about $500m, with a maturity of five years and a return of 1.5% annually.
