Egypt likely to hold off on foreign bond sale

Egypt is unlikely to tap the international bond market in the next few months despite a hefty budget deficit since political uncertainty would drive up costs and the government wants to size up what foreign aid it can secure. The country's last eurobond, which was oversubscribed, was launched almost a year before President Hosni Mubarak was toppled on February 11.
His government had been considering a new long-term issue. The yield on a 10-year Egyptian eurobond has dropped to 5.70 percent from over 7.0 percent in late January during the uprising that ousted Mubarak, as the new government has won assurances of external help to shore up state finances. The yield was as low as 4.4 percent last year.
Egypt was given breathing space when the International Monetary Fund agreed a $3 billion standby facility on June 6. That and other pledges from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and others could mount to over $20 billion, if finalised.