Egypt sells RMB3.5bn in 3-year panda bonds in debut issue

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Egypt has issued 3-year panda bonds worth $479m (RMB3.5bn) the finance ministry said on Monday, the latest in a string of less conventional borrowings as it grapples with a mushrooming foreign debt repayment schedule.

The panda bonds, Egypt‘s first such issue, were priced at 3.5 per cent annually for three years, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said, signalling that was a lower interest rate than for dollar-denominated bonds.

Panda bonds are bonds denominated in Chinese yuan but issued by foreign borrowers.

Egypt’s debt burden

The North African country has been looking to tap less conventional sources of finance since a foreign borrowing spree caused its repayment schedule to balloon and sent many traditional investors scurrying for the doors.

Its foreign debt has quadrupled over the last eight years. As of end-March 2023, the government had $11.76bn in medium- and long-term debt coming due in the second half of

2023, including a $500m Eurobond maturing on November 20, and $14.6bn coming due in the first half of 2024, according to central bank data.

Last month, Egypt arranged a currency swap with the UAE worth $1.3bn and in August the cabinet agreed to issue five-year samurai bonds worth $500m denominated in the Japanese currency.

In February, it raised $1.5bn in three-year Islamic bonds, known as sukuk, at a yield of 11 per cent.

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