ArabFinance: Local Egyptian debt probably wont be made Euroclearable until the second half of 2022 due to an unresolved technical point between the government and the Belgium-based clearinghouse, CNBC Arabia cited Finance Minister Mohamed Maait. Having local debt cleared in Europe will make EGP bonds more accessible to foreign investors, who can currently only access the market through a small number of local banks. Making it easier for foreign funds to invest should translate into greater inflows into Egyptian debt. The Egyptian government has been working to meet Euroclears conditions since signing the initial agreement back in 2019. The ministry was originally expecting a final agreement in the fourth quarter of 2021, which was then pushed into early 2022 as talks dragged on. Possibly the withholding tax on government debt, according to Euroclears head of global capital markets, Sudip Chatterjee, who said last year that the way Egypt calculates the tax needs to be brought in line with international norms. Egypt has fulfilled the remainder of the clearinghouses requirements, Maait said, which included setting up a central securities depository in addition to a number of technical, logistical and administrative terms. Copyright 2022 Arab Finance Brokerage Company All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). Disclaimer: The content of this article is syndicated or provided to this website from an external third party provider. We are not responsible for, and do not control, such external websites, entities, applications or media publishers. The body of the text is provided on an as is and as available basis and has not been edited in any way. Neither we nor our affiliates guarantee the accuracy of or endorse the views or opinions expressed in this article. Read our full disclaimer policy here.
