EXCLUSIVE- FinMin wants to start selling gov’t bonds on the EGX this fiscal year: The Finance Ministry has begun taking steps towards selling government bonds on the EGX, and has begun coordinating with the central bank to get the ball rolling on that, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait told us in an exclusive interview. A legislative pipeline is being readied to help establish a market for government bonds on the bourse, with an eye towards getting passed in the current legislative cycle, he added. Expects bond sales on the EGX to begin in the current fiscal year, but did not give any indication as to when. The government firmly intends to only sell long-term bonds as part of its plan to rely on long-term debt. It will not be selling short-term treasuries on the stock market.

Maait sets the record straight on Egypt tapping the global sukuk market in FY2018-19: Thanks to a very busy legislative cycle, Egypt will not be issuing Islamic Sharia-compliant bonds in USD or EUR in the current fiscal year, Maait tells us. There currently is no legislative framework in place that will make that possible, and due to an already stacked legislative cycle, Maait does not see it happening this year. Maait is setting the record straight following news reports last week which stated that Egypt would indeed be issuing sukuks in FY2018-19.