The Clap
Egypt’s Ministry of Finance issued its first-ever bonds in the Japanese market, worth 60 billion Japanese yen (equivalent to USD 500 million).
The deets
The issuance makes Egypt the first country in the Middle East to issue Yen-denominated bonds, according to the Ministry of Finance.
It also confirms Egypt’s return to the international bond markets, despite the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.
The bond’s coupon payment is 0.85%, & has a five-year term to maturity. This coupon payment is higher than that of USD-denominated bond issuances, according to Minister of Finance Dr. Mohamed Maait.
Claps Class
A coupon payment is the annual interest rate paid on a bond. A bond’s term to maturity is the length of time during which the owner will receive interest payments on the investment. When the bond reaches maturity the principal is repaid.
Why this matters
This issuance comes within the Ministry’s strategy to diversify debt instruments (currency, maturity terms, markets, etc.), to cater to more investors in order to reduce the cost of financing.