The Ministry of Finance plans to issue treasury bills (T-Bills) and bonds (T-Bonds) of EGP 186bn in May, as part of the government plan to offer EGP 610bn worth debt instruments during the fourth quarter (4Q) of the fiscal year (FY) 2019/20 to bridge the budget deficit.

The Ministry of Finance’s plan shows that the government is targeting 16 T-Bills offerings of EGP 159bn and 8 T-Bonds offerings of EGP 27bn.

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), which undertakes this task on behalf of the government, will issue four offerings of 91-day T-Bills of EGP 34bn, four 182-day offerings of EGP 40bn, four 273-day offerings of EGP 42bn, and four 364-day offerings of EGP 43bn.

As for T-Bonds, the government’s plan includes two 3-year offerings of EGP 7.5bn maturing in March 2023, and two 5-year offerings of EGP 7bn due in March 2025.

Also in May, the Finance Ministry will propose two offerings of 7-year T-Bonds of EGP 6.5bn due in March 2027, and other two offerings of 10-year T-Bonds of EGP 6bn due in March 2030.

The banks operating in the Egyptian market are the largest investors in T-Bills and T-Bonds.

T-Bonds and T-Bills are proposed through 15 banks, which are the principal dealers in the primary market. These banks resell a portion of these bills and bonds in the secondary market to retail investors, as well as to local and foreign institutions.