Look for news on the eurobonds in the coming 2-3 weeks. We expect the Finance Ministry to announce Egypt’s planned USD 2.5-3 bn eurobond issuance sometime in the coming two to three weeks. The plan, as announced in December, was to move ahead with the issuance mid-January. Deputy Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said at the time he expected the interest rate on the issuance to be around 6-7%.

European car prices in Egypt should start falling? Customs tariffs on EU-made cars have supposedly been reduced by up to 70% since the start of January as part of an existing trade deal that will see them eliminated entirely by 2019. Sources told Al Borsa that a decision enforcing the directive has been passed on to all ports of entry. The head of the Egyptian auto assemblers association said the Egyptian consumers will not see any tangible reductions in sticker prices mostly due to the rising exchange rate, according to Ahram Gate. Regardless of whether there is merit to this argument, this could be an area that will keep the Egyptian Competition Authority busy from the start of the year.