CAIRO: Egypt is offering treasury bonds worth EGP13 billion ($820 million) in a bid to finance the country’s budget deficit.
The Central Bank of Egypt on Monday announced that the value of the first offering amounted to EGP5 billion for a period of three years. The second offering would be EGP7 billion for a period of seven years and the third around EGP1 billion for a 15-year term.
The Egyptian Ministry of Finance recently announced the possibility of reducing the acceptable quantities of bids for bills and bonds on the public treasury, issued in local currency, until the end of the current fiscal year.
Egypt’s deficit rose to $2.8 billion in the July-September quarter, up from $1.4 billion in the same quarter of 2019, as the North African country felt the economic impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Revenues from tourism fell by almost 70 percent last year, while net foreign direct investment was down 31 percent year-on-year to $1.6 billion, Reuters reported in January.
In May, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved Egypt’s request for emergency financial assistance of $2.772 billion to combat the impact of the pandemic.
“The government of Egypt has responded to the crisis with a comprehensive package aimed at tackling the health emergency and supporting economic activity,” Geoffrey Okamoto, first deputy managing director of the IMF, said at the time.
“As the crisis abates, measures to lower the debt level would need to resume along with continued implementation of structural reforms to increase the role of the private sector to achieve higher and inclusive private sector-led growth and job creation, unlocking Egypt’s growth potential and entrenching resilience,” he added.
