This is not the first time Egypt has launched bonds into the Japanese market. Egypt issued its inaugural Samurai bonds last year in March 2022
Egypt successfully sold ¥75 million (Japanese Yen) - close to $500 million - worth of 5-year Samurai bonds with an average yield of 1.5% into the Japanese market, according to Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait in an official statement.
The Samurai bonds, Japanese-yen-denominated bonds, are offered by foreign issuers on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, usually to hedge against foreign exchange risk.
This is not the first time Egypt has launched bonds into the Japanese market. Egypt issued its inaugural Samurai bonds last year in March 2022, also offering bonds worth $500 million which was, at the time, approximately ¥60 million.
In October, Egypt issued Chinese-yuan-denominated bonds called “Panda Bonds” worth a similar $500 million.
Ahmed Kouchouk, Deputy Minister of Finance for Financial Policies, explained that the country’s second Samurai bonds issuance attracted numerous Japanese investors, highlighting the Egyptian economy’s resilience, and ability to achieve its objectives and handle internal and external shocks.
The Samurai and Panda bonds issuances are part of the government’s strategy to increase its foreign currency inflows and diversify external financing sources.
In September, Maait told media that Egypt is looking into raising between $1.5-2 billion in fresh financing, including $1 billion from Panda and Samurai bonds, by the end of 2023.
Otherwise, the government has worked hard to improve its hard currency position, accelerating stake sales of state-owned assets to strategic investors. Recently, it raised up to $2.5 billion through its privatization program.
Egypt’s external debt fell to $164.7 billion at the end of June 2023, compared to $165.3 billion at the end of last March, according to a CBE report earlier this week.
