Cairo – Mubasher: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) will issue treasury bills (T-bills) worth EGP 17.75 billion on behalf of the Ministry of Finance (MOF) on Wednesday, instead of Thursday.

The CBE and the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) had announced that Thursday, 24 January, is an official holiday in celebration of National Police Day and the 25 January Revolution.

The first tranche of T-bills will be offered through 182-day notes at EGP 8.75 billion, while the second offering will be through 357-day notes at EGP 9 billion, according to the CBE’s official website.

The issuance will be used to finance the budget deficit, the CBE said.

Egypt’s debt instruments, especially T-bills, are attractive to foreign investors owing to their high yield. State-run banks are the largest holders of the government’s debt instruments.

The MOF previously stated it aims to finance the general budget deficit of EGP 511.2 billion in fiscal year 2018/2019.

Egypt aims to issue EGP 409.6 billion T-bills and EGP 101.6 billion bonds in FY18/19.