Cairo names Matouk Bassiouny as local legal advisor for dollar bond issue

The Egyptian Ministry of Finance announced Thursday it selected Matouk Bassiouny Law Firm to act as a local legal advisor to a dollar-denominated bond issuance in international markets.

On Wednesday, the ministry selected four international investment banks to be in charge of the dollar-denominated bond issuance. These banks are:  Natixis, Citi Bank, JP Morgan, and BNP Paribas.

Egypt plans to offer bonds $3 billion in bonds in the international markets to finance the three-year economic reform programme that is being discussed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and which requires total finances of $21 billion from different global institutions.

Through the issuance, the government aims to ease pressure on domestic financing resources.

Egypt’s domestic debt increased to 83% of the gross domestic product (GDP), according to official data.