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Thursday, 8 December 2022

Sovereign sukuk + sustainable bond issuances coming this FY?

FinMin could take its maiden sovereign sukuk issuance to market in 1H 2023: The Finance Ministry is planning to sell USD 1.5-2.5 bn of sukuk, a shariah-compliant debt instrument, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait told Reuters yesterday. The timing of the issuance is still undetermined and the ministry will pull the trigger when market conditions look better, Maait said — though Vice Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk signaled the sale is scheduled for the current fiscal year, which ends on 30 June, 2023. The ministry had previously penciled in a USD 2 bn issuance for FY 2021-2022.

Sustainable development bonds are still in the cards: The ministry is still on track to issue USD 500 mn of sustainable development bonds before the end of this fiscal year, Bloomberg Asharq quotes Maait as saying. The ministry is in talks with investment banks to promote the issuance, Maait said, without disclosing which banks are in the running.

SOUND SMART- Susdev bonds? FinMin earlier this year broadened its green financing framework to include sustainable development bonds, allowing the state to raise money for a wider array of social and environmental projects including the Decent Life initiative.

All part of our debt diversification strategy: The government has been working to diversify Egypt’s sources of financing and switch to longer-term debt since 2018 to help reduce the country’s debt service burden. The ministry is planning to take its debut CNY-denominated Panda bond issuance worth USD 500 mn to market in 1Q 2023, and is also looking to issue a “green” version of samurai and panda bonds, following its first JPY-denominated bond issuance in late March.

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