Cairo – Mubasher: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) will issue treasury bills (T-bills) worth EGP 18 billion on Thursday on behalf of the Ministry of Finance (MoF).

The first tranche of the T-bills will be offered through 182-day notes at EGP 8.75 billion, while the second tranche amounts to EGP 9.25 billion and will be through 364-day notes, the CBE said in a statement on its website.

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

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

The MoF previously unveiled plans to issue EGP 146 billion in debt instruments in February, coinciding with the recent retreat in yields on T-bills and T-bonds.

The North African state plans to cut government debt to 92% of gross domestic product (GDP) in fiscal year 2018/2019, along with financing the state budget deficit by EGP 511.2 billion.

Egypt previously revealed plans to issue T-bills worth EGP 409.6 billion and T-bonds valued at EGP 101.6 billion in the current fiscal year.