Egypt

In this round-up, China saw another sizeable drop to its foreign exchange reserves in November, the Shenzhen Connect saw subdued trading activity in its first four days, and Egypt signed its first currency swap line with China. Plus, a recap of our coverage this week.

Though Egypt is reeling from the central bank’s action to float its currency last month two Egyptian borrowers are in the market for hard currency loans this week, but unsecured corporate loans will be slower to come, said bankers.

The Egyptian subsidiary of Abu Dhabi telecoms firm Etisalat is raising a $278m loan described as having “UAE pricing” because — despite the currency risks involved in Egyptian loans — the deal is secured by the borrower’s offshore foreign currency revenues, according to bankers.

Caa1 rated Banque Misr is syndicating a loan with a longer than usual tenor of five years, though a guarantee from the Egyptian central bank will help drive demand, according to two bankers away from the deal.

In the midst of an aggressive EM bond rout, Egypt was given a much needed boost after the International Monetary Fund approved a three year $12bn loan on Friday.

Egypt’s return to the Eurobond market could be postponed until next year after its finance ministry raised a further $2bn of funding from international banks.

In this round-up: RMB indices record a stabilisation of the currency against the trade-weighted baskets, Hong Kong RMB deposits increase nearly 2% in September, and the China cross-border interbank payment system (CIPS) expands to 400 indirect participants. Plus, a recap of our top stories this week.

Fitch has removed Afreximbank from rating watch negative, partly because of its “excellent” risk mitigants, as the development bank continues to arrange a loan of at least $750m.

Domestic opposition could derail Egypt’s IMF deal and threaten plans for a dollar market return, analysts have warned.

Egypt has picked four international banks to manage its upcoming bond sale as it awaits approval on a $12bn extended fund facility (EFF) from the IMF’s executive board.

Egypt has picked four international banks to manage its upcoming bond sale as it awaits approval on a $12bn extended fund facility (EFF) from the IMF’s executive board.

Sovereign mandates are starting to trickle through in CEEMEA as borrowers ready themselves for September. Bahrain has picked five banks to manage a dollar transaction and the market is waiting for updates from Egypt and Nigeria.