EXCLUSIVE- FinMin won’t consider FX bond issuance until fall: The Finance Ministry will not begin considering a foreign currency-denominated bond issuance for another two months, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait told Enterprise. The ministry will begin deliberations then on whether to hold a bond issuance or hold off on the decision and seek other alternative financing, he added. Market conditions at the time will be an important factor in the decision, he suggested.

Thank the EM zombie apocalypse: Maait attributed the move to the turbulent market conditions facing emerging markets lately, including rising US interest rates and the trade war between the US and China. He noted, however, that while portfolio outflows resulting from the EM selloff reached USD 3-4 bn, Egypt is doing much better than its other EM counterparts, thanks largely to the economic reform program and the CBE’s monetary and FX policies.

These “challenging market conditions” had been the primary motive behind Egypt’s tweaking of its funding mix by relying on longer-term facilities from international finance institutions. Maait had told us last month that the ministry is looking for tenors of up to 30 years with interest rates of 1-2%.