Egypt starts investor meeting for debut sukuk sale

Egypt has started on Friday meeting with investors ahead of a potential debut sale of Islamic bonds — known as sukuk, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

The North African country has started conducting a global investor call and a series of fixed-income investor calls, two people said, asking not to be identified because the information is not yet public. It may sell a benchmark-sized USD sukuk with a three-year tenor, they added.

Egyptian government has chosen Citigroup Inc, Credit Agricole, Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank as joint lead managers and joint bookrunners, the sources said.

The country is trying to overhaul an economy affected by the repercussions of the Russian war in Ukraine, which caused food and energy price hikes and hit tourism revenues.

The roadshows are expected to end on Monday as Egypt will decide on the sale depending on market conditions.

The country has around $39 billion in outstanding debt in dollars and euros, including $1.75 billion due this year and $3.3 billion next year, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.