Egypt plans green samurai, panda, SDB bonds – minister

Egypt plans to issue green samurai bonds on the Japanese market and panda bonds on the Chinese market, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said at a conference in Cairo on Tuesday.

In March, the North African country has successively issued 60 billion Yen ($493.26 million) in samurai bonds on the Japanese market and managed to attract several Japanese investors overwhelmingly bullish on the Egyptian economy, Maait added.

“We are also considering the issuance of sustainable development bonds (SDB) to finance socially beneficial projects.” the minister said.

The country also seeks to issue its first sovereign sukuks when global economic situation improves, he stated.

Last week, Maait told reporters that Egypt plans to issue yuan-denominated bonds worth more than $500 million, without disclosing further details about the timing of the issuance.