(Ecofin Agency) - Egypt intends to issue new bonds on the financial market via four Europe-based banks, Bloomberg indicated today March 12. According to information from Egyptian authorities, the banks selected to manage this issuance include BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered and Intesa Sanpaolo.

This operation to raise between €1 billion and €1.15 billion should be launched before the 2018-2019 fiscal year which begins next July 1 and during which the country plans to raise $3 billion to $5 billion.

Bloomberg indicated that this move, mainly spurred by a drop in borrowing costs in Europe, should allow the North African country to fill the budget deficit and strengthen foreign exchange reserves, just like the $4 billion raised last month.

For the record, from October 2016 to now, Egypt had raised $11 billion through international bonds, as part of its national strategy to float local currency (Egyptian pound). This, coupled with reforms suggested by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), helped secure a $12 million financing from the Bretton Woods institution.

Moutiou Adjibi Nourou (intern)