The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) auctioned 4.5 billion EGP ($645.8 million) in treasury bonds Monday on behalf of the Ministry of Finance, according to CBE’s statement on its website.
The bonds were offered in two installments, one worth 2.5 billion EGP with a three-year term and the second valued at two billion EGP with a seven-year term.
The budget deficit is expected to range between 11 to 12 percent, 240 billion EGP, by the end of the current fiscal year 2013-2014, Minister of Finance Hany Kadry said early March.
In February, the government was represented by the Ministry of Finance and CBE borrowed 70 billion EGP in treasury bills and bonds worth, according to the state-owned Middle East News Agency (MENA.)
“The government aims to reduce the budget deficit by 10 percent,” Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab said, Youm7 reported two weeks ago. “This needs higher production rates and tourism revenues to return to normal.”
Egypt’s budget deficit is currently funded by CBE treasury bills and bonds, one of the governmental instruments for debts, as well as aid from Gulf States and international loans.
