The details of Egypt’s eurobond issuance are out: Egypt successfully priced a USD 4 bn multi-tranche international bond issuance consisting of USD 1.75 bn five-year, USD 1.0 bn 10-year, and USD 1.25 bn 30-year notes. BNP Paribas, the joint bookrunner and lead manager on the issuance, said the transaction was 3.1x oversubscribed with a total order book in excess of USD 12.25 bn. Investor distribution was balanced between investors in the Americas and Europe across tranches with the remainder going to Middle East and Asian investors. BNP Paribas also said the 10-year tranche was priced flat to Egypt’s existing curve with “negligible new issue premium.” The transaction is largest ever bond issuance out of Africa and also the continent’s first triple-tranche bond issuance.

The government is also considering issuing international bonds in currencies including the Japanese Yen and the Chinese Yuan, Finance Minister Amr El Garhy said at a joint press conference yesterday with Deputy Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk. He added that it was too early to say when Egypt might next go to the debt market or how much it would seek to borrow, Reuters reports. That said, senior ministry officials tell Al Borsa that the ministry has reached out to Japanese Bank for International Cooperation for a guarantee on Yen-denominated bonds. El Garhy added that the bond issue had covered the financing gap for the FY2016-17 fiscal year and portion of the FY2017-18 gap. El Garhy said that the success of the issue is a sign that the investing community has taken note of the Ismail government’s reform agenda.

Banks and investment firms bought 92% the issuance, with the rest being placed with hedge and pension funds, Kouchouk said, noting that the yields on the bonds are on par with comparable economies including Nigeria, Ghana and Ecuador.

** VAT executive regulations this week: Also at yesterday’s presser, El Garhy said the executive regulations for the value-added tax act would be issued this week. The finance minister also reiterated that the government will “thoroughly study” how to best impose a stamp tax on stock market transactions to avoid riling the market.