Another Eurobond issuance coming in September? It appears that the Finance Ministry is considering another EUR-denominated bond issuance in September, government sources reportedly told Al Borsa. The issuance will be to the tune of EUR 1-1.5 bn, a less ambitious target than previous eurobond sales in order to “get a feel for the markets,” sources added. The ministry is expected to propose the move to the Ismail cabinet for approval ahead of selecting investment banks to manage the issuance, which from the looks of it, may be the first foreign-denominated bond issuance in the FY2017-18 fiscal year.

The news comes as foreigners increased their holdings in Egyptian treasuries nearly 9x year-on-year to USD 9.8 bn during FY2016-17, Vice Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk tells Reuters. “Foreign investment in domestic treasury bills and bonds reached USD 1.25 bn in June alone, and about USD 9 bn since the flotation,” he adds. Foreigners’ holdings in Egyptian treasuries had reached USD 9.3 bn (EGP 164 bn) as of 21 June.

Foreign investors bought almost half the T-bills on offer in the government’s Sunday auction for EGP 8.5 bn (USD 470 mn), encouraged by rising yields on six- and 12-month notes to c. 21%, the head of the Finance Ministry’s public debt division Samy Khallaf tells Bloomberg. Average yields on 10-year treasuries fell to c. 18.296% from 18.346% in the last auction, according to Reuters.