EXCLUSIVE- Foreign holdings in Egyptian debt break north of the USD 17 bn mark: Foreign investors’ holdings of Egyptian government debt rose to north of USD 17 bn, recently appointed CBE board member Fakhry El Fekky told Enterprise. Another government source put the figure at USD 17.6 bn as of the end of May. Finance Minister Mohamed Maait had said that holding as of end of April stood at USD 16.8 bn.

Is the carry trade being outstripped by long-term investors? New inflows have been biased toward medium and long-term bonds that have maturities between three and seven years, the officials told us. The Finance Ministry is working to drum up appetite for longer-term debt in a bid to ease its reliance on short-term issuances and reduce its need to refinance. It hopes to increase the average maturity of Egypt’s debt to five years by 2022, Deputy FM Ahmed Kouchouk said in February. Inflows from short-term carry traders have been instrumental in the EGP’s appreciation this year.

Look for confirmation on this later this month when more detailed figures on inflows are released as part of the central bank’s regular balance of payments report.