Egypt’s Minister of Finance Mohamed Moeit said that Egypt has received offers for launching dollar bonds, without providing further details.
"We started in the morning and will continue to receive offers from investors everywhere in the world until later in the day," Moeit told Reuters.
He said in January that Egypt planned to launch international bonds in February or March denominated in various currencies, and would seek to raise between USD3 billion and USD7 billion.
Egypt raised USD2.46 billion last April via eight- and 12-year euro-denominated bonds at 4.75 and 5.625 percent interest respectively.
In another context, Union Fenosa Gas (UFG) said that it was in ongoing talks with Egypt to restart a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant which has been idle for several years due to a lack of gas supply, yet the guarantees offered by the Egyptian authorities are not sufficient to reach the comprehensive agreement required to bring the dispute to its end.
'The UFG reiterates its commitment to reach an amicable agreement with the Egyptian government and the state-owned companies based on the compensation for the damages caused, the restoration of gas supply to the Damietta LNG plant, and the guarantees of future compliance with the contracts,' the statement added.
'Whenever an agreement is reached, the market will be informed in a timely manner,' according to the statement.
UFG is a joint venture between Spain's Gas Natural and Italy's Eni.
Egypt seeks to become a regional center for energy commerce post the explorations of gas in the past years, knowing that these exploration enabled it to achieve self-sufficiency.
