The government plans to issue “Citizen Bonds” every month, with the yield set for each round based on market conditions and inflation, public debt adviser to the finance minister Mai Adel told Enterprise.
The plan follows a strong start for the first issue, which raised 350 million Egyptian pounds ($7.45 million) in its first two days, Enterprise said, adding that subscriptions remain open to individual investors until March 8.
The inaugural 18-month bond was launched on Sunday with a 17.75% annual yield paid monthly. It is sold in 1,000-pound ($21) denominations, with a minimum purchase of 10,000 pounds ($213), and pays out on the 15th of each month.
Mai Adel said, “If demand emerges for longer tenors—particularly given that the new bonds are [backed] by the Finance Ministry—maturities will be diversified.,” signaling that future offerings could be longer-term.
According to Enterprise, the “Citizen Bond” differs from sovereign sukuk in that there is no fixed target size for each issue. Subscription values are compiled weekly through Egypt Post, with the final size of each offering based on total retail subscriptions.
Adel added that the retail bonds are fully tax-exempt, with yields paid out with no deductions, saying the goal is to “spread the culture of investment among small savers and attract diverse segments across the governorates.”
Enterprise said the “Citizen Bond” is a tactical move within the broader public debt strategy, which targets reducing the debt-to-GDP ratio to 78.5% and capping interest payments at 35% of total public revenues in the next fiscal year.
Inflation has fallen sharply over the past two years and stabilized at 10.1% in January, paving the way for a rate cut at the central bank’s latest Monetary Policy Committee meeting, when it announced cuts that brought the deposit and lending rates to 19% and 20%, respectively.
