The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) received 19 offers worth $605.6 million for its dollar-denominated local treasury bills from local and international investors. Egypt’s central bank issued $500 million in dollar-denominated local treasury bills with a maturity rate of one year due in June 2025. The central bank will use the proceeds from this auction to settle a previous auction, which it issued on June 6, 2023, during which the central bank raised $554.1 million.
Of the 19 offers, the central bank accepted only 17 with a value of $500.6 million. Moreover, it set the interest rate for the bids between 5.148 percent and 5.149 percent, similar to its last bid on April 29, 2023.
Egypt’s central bank allows both local banks and foreign institutions to subscribe to these bills. However, it set a minimum subscription amount of $100,000 and multiples thereof. The process of subscribing to local treasury bills involves primary dealers submitting a subscription request to Egypt’s central bank, indicating the desired amount and interest rate. The central bank then reviews these requests and accepts the bids.
Read: Egypt’s net foreign assets deficit contracts to $3.68 billion in April: CBE
Liquidity management
In a similar auction held on April 29, 2023, Egypt’s central bank received 23 bids with a total value of $1.1176 billion from both local and foreign investors. The auction, valued at $980 million, also held a maturity of one year, which will expire on April 29, 2025. The central bank revealed that for this auction, it accepted 20 bids with a value of $997 million at an interest rate between 5.148 percent and 5.149 percent.
Egypt’s central bank employs a range of instruments including treasury bills, treasury bonds and deposit auctions to reach its operating targets and effectively manage liquidity in the country.
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