National Bank of Egypt delays bond issue, to repay $600mn: CEO

National Bank of Egypt will postpone a new bond issuance and repay US$600 million of earlier bonds Wednesday, its chief executive said.

“After the fluctuation in international bond markets in the last period as a result of the Greek crisis… we have decided to temporarily postpone the new issuance until the right time,” CEO Hisham Okasha said.

Egypt’s oldest commercial lender, National Bank in June selected five banks to arrange fixed-income meetings for a potential benchmark U.S. dollar-denominated bond issue.

But Okasha said in a phone interview that the prospective issuance would be delayed as the bank wanted to wait for more favourable debt market conditions.

It will repay $600 million in bonds on Wednesday, he added.

The bank issued bonds in August 2010 worth US$600 million at an interest rate of 5.25 percent, which mature on Aug. 5.

“Repayment confirms the bank’s commitment to meet foreign obligations in a timely manner,” Okasha said.

The government sold US$1.5 billion of 10-year bonds in June, returning to the international debt market after a five-year hiatus due to political and economic instability.

Source: Reuters