Egypt on Tuesday for the first time in its history began to sell the issuance of Islamic debt, struggling with a shortage of foreign currency.
The dollar sukuk is expected to be quoted today for three years with an initial yield of 11.625%, according to the terms of reference seen by Bloomberg.
It is noteworthy that Egypt this month is obliged to repay international bonds in the amount of 1.25 billion dollars.
Today’s offering is Egypt’s first offering to the global debt market since the private placement of the first $500 million samurai yen-denominated bonds in March 2022.
The International Monetary Fund estimates Egypt’s external financing gap at around $17 billion, and its program is expected to help unlock an additional $14 billion in funding from international and regional partners.
The value of Egypt’s foreign-currency debt is about $39 billion in dollars and euros, of which $1.75 billion is due this year and $3.3 billion next year, according to Bloomberg.
Moody’s Investors Service has awarded Egypt’s proposed $5 billion B3 sukuk program to be used to finance investment and development projects. Although earlier this month he downgraded the country’s sovereign credit rating to a lower junk zone, warning that it would take the country some time to reduce its exposure to external risks.
Source: Bloomberg.