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 357-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 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.