Egypt targets $4bn from global bond markets

Egypt reportedly plans to raise $4 billion from global bond markets to meet its external financing needs for 2026-27.

Such needs for the upcoming fiscal year range between $8 billion and $9 billion, Asharq Business reported, quoting finance minister Ahmed Kouchouk.

Half of the amount has been secured through concessional financing, he said.

The Egyptian fiscal year begins in July and ends on June 30 of the following year.

Cairo has issued the first sovereign bond in the Middle East and North Africa since the start of the Iran conflict, worth $1 billion, in an effort to support development.

The government also aims to issue new yen-denominated “samurai” bonds by July but has not yet disclosed the target size, the report said.

The North African nation issued its first $500 million of Japanese yen-denominated bonds in March 2022, followed by another batch of the same amount in November 2023.

In April, Kouchouk said Egypt was banking on higher public revenue from exports and the sale of government enterprises to slash its foreign debt by $1 billion to $2 billion in the 2026-27 budget.

He said the 2026-27 budget targets a deficit of 5 percent of GDP. The debt-to-GDP ratio is forecast at 78 percent in June 2027, down from 87 percent in the previous year.

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