Cairo - Mubasher: Egypt's public debt servicing costs declined by 8% year-on-year (YoY) to EGP 246 billion in the first half of the current fiscal year from around EGP 267 billion in the year-ago period, Egyptian Minister of Finance, Mohamed Maait, announced on Thursday.

The decrease in debt servicing costs reflects the Egyptian Ministry of Finance's success in lowering borrowing costs and diversifying funding sources, and extending the loan period, Maait referred.

In addition, the ministry has reduced the risks of refinancing existing debts by decreasing interest rates for the government borrowing instruments.

Maait added that the ministry has increased the long-term bond issuances to represent 85% of the government's total issuances in the July-December period.