Egypt will issue a 1.5 billion euro ($1.8 billion) bond by the end of November and plans to launch a new $10 billion Eurobond programme next year, the Boursa newspaper reported on Sunday. Finance Minister Amr El Garhy told the newspaper that Cairo planned to sell Eurobonds worth $3 billion to $4 billion in the first quarter of 2018, but did not give a detailed timetable for the new programme.

Earlier this year, Egypt sold $7 billion in five-, 10- and 30-year bonds, part of its return to international markets after turmoil following the ouster of president Hosni Mubarak in 2011. El Garhy said the finance ministry would decide within the next two weeks when to issue the euro-denominated bonds but it would be before the end of November. That would be part of the existing programme. "The issue will be in the range of 1.5 billion euros after the approval of the cabinet," he said. "We aim at issuing bonds worth between $3 billion and $4 billion during the first quarter of the next year."

Copyright Reuters, 2017