USD 2-4 bn eurobond issuance planned for 1Q2018: Egypt is a planning a eurobond issuance to the tune of USD 2-4 bn by 1Q2018, Finance Minister Amr El Garhy told the press on Tuesday, according to Reuters. No other issuances of that size can be expected in 2017, El Garhy added, despite reports last month suggesting that Egypt would be floating c. EUR 1-1.5 bn in bonds in September.

Government to switch entirely to electronic transactions by year’s end: Speaking at a presser held yesterday, El Garhy said the government plans to complete the transition from cash to electronic payments for all state- and budget-related transactions, which includes civil servants and public workers’ monthly salaries, by the end of 2017. The plan is expected to help the government better monitor its spending — which is expected to decline by c. 10% as a result of the switch — and also gradually reduce the budget deficit to a range of 3-3.5% by 2022, according to the minister. In the same vein, the government has also started consolidating different government bodies’ central bank accounts and has already agreed with the CBE to shut down 1,500 government-affiliated sub-accounts, he added.