CBE offers EGP 20bn in T-Bills as market awaits Finance Ministry move

Hossam Mounir
2 Min Read

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) will, on behalf of the Ministry of Finance, offer two Treasury Bill (T-Bill) tranches worth EGP 20bn. The offering includes EGP 8.5bn in 91-day bills, and EGP 10.5bn of 266-day bills.

The market is expecting the Ministry of Finance response to the offers it would receive, having said on Wednesday that it may lower the accepted offers until the end of the current fiscal year (FY) 2019/2020. The move indicates the ministry’s desire to diversify sources of funding to reduce the cost of borrowing.

The CBE will issue Treasury Bills and bonds worth EGP 186bn in May, as part of a government plan to borrow EGP 610bn between April and the end of June 2020.

The Ministry of Finance’s plan includes 16 offerings of Treasury Bills during May this year, at a value of EGP 159bn, whilst also issuing eight Treasury bond bids worth EGP 27bn.

In May, the CBE, which handles this task on behalf of the government, will issue Treasury bids for 91-day at a value of EGP 34bn, four bids for 182-day bills worth EGP 40bn, four bids for 273-day bills worth EGP 42bn, and four bids of 364-day bills worth EGP 43bn.

The government’s plan also includes offering a three year bonds tender due in March 2023, worth EGP 7.5bn, and five year bonds bid worth EGP 7bn due in March 2025.

Also in May, the Ministry of Finance will borrow EGP 6.5bn through seven year bonds, due in March 2027, and EGP 6bn from 10-year bonds due in 2030.

Egypt’s banking sector is the largest source of investments in Treasury bonds and bills that the government offers periodically to cover the state’s public budget deficit.

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