Egypt's Finance Ministry to auction LE478.5B in T-bonds, bills in Q4 of FY 2018/2019

 Egypt's Finance Ministry will auction treasury bills and bonds at a total value of LE 478.5 billion during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2018/2019. Thu, Mar. 28, 2019
CAIRO – 28 March 2019: Egypt's Finance Ministry will auction treasury bills and bonds at a total value of LE 478.5 billion during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2018/2019.

The ministry clarified that treasury bills (T-bills) will be auctioned with a 91-day term, 182-day term, 273-day term and 364-day term worth LE 750 billion, LE 110 billion, LE 250 billion, LE 114 billion, LE 111 billion, LE 750 billion, and LE 120 billion, respectively.

Moreover, the ministry said it will auction three-year treasury bonds (maturing in January 2023) worth 4.75 billion, three-year bonds (maturing in June 2022)worth LE 2 billion, five-year bonds (maturing in April 2024) for LE 5.75 billion, and seven-year bonds (maturing in April 2026) at LE 5 billion.

It will also auction 10-year t-bonds (maturing in November 2027) at a total value of LE 1.5 billion, and r 10-year t-bonds (maturing in May 2029) at LE 2.75 billion.

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), on behalf of the Ministry of Finance, issued LE 18.5 billion in treasury bills earlier on Thursday, March 28.

Net foreign investments in government debt instruments jumped 21.6 percent in January, recording LE 233.8 billion, compared to LE 192.2 billion in December, according to CBE.

Previously, the Ministry of Finance announced financial treatments on treasury bills and bonds, Finance Minister Mohamed Ma’it revealed that the reason behind the financial treatments of T-bills' taxes, saying that it's one of the rights of the treasury.

Ma'it noted the share of the treasury from the taxes wasn't collected before.

For the current fiscal year, the budget deficit is estimated to record LE 438.59 billion, or 8.4 percent, planned by the ministry to be financed through treasury bills and bonds and through international and Arab loans.

Egypt needs to fund 2018/2019 budget by LE 714.64 billion; LE 511.21 billion will be provided by domestic debt instrument and the rest will come from foreign financing through the issuance of bonds and the IMF loan.

In November 2016, the Executive Board of the IMF approved a $12 billion loan as a financial assistance to Egypt to support the Egyptian economic reform program.

Upon the board's approval in November, Egypt floated its currency, losing around 50 percent of its value, as part of the economic reform program which imposed taxes, including the value-added tax (VAT), and cut energy subsidies, all with the aim of trimming the budget deficit.