CAIRO: The Central Bank of Egypt on Sunday issued treasury bills worth EGP19 billion ($1.21 billion) on behalf of the Finance Ministry.

Governments resort to financing budget deficits by offering bonds and treasury bills as debt instruments, and public banks are their largest buyers.

Treasury bills are short-term debt instruments, with maturities ranging from three months to a year.

On its website the Central Bank of Egypt confirmed that the value of the first offering amounted to EGP11 billion for a period of 91 days, while the second offering would be EGP8 billion for a period of 266 days.

Central bank revenues from loans and balances with banks, in addition to the proceeds from treasury bills and bonds, rose from EGP26.51 billion to a record EGP145.387 billion during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019, compared to EGP118.875 billion for the year before that. 

Financial statements showed that the central bank increased its revenues from loans and bank balances to EGP18.7 billion at the end of June 2019, compared to EGP11.6 billion pounds at the end of June 2018.

NBE expansion plans

National Bank of Egypt (NBE) is looking to launch a subsidiary bank in South Sudan and a branch in Saudi Arabia, deputy chairman Yehia Abou El-Fettouh has said.

In an official statement, El-Fettouh said that NBE had obtained the necessary approvals from the Central Bank of Egypt to launch an affiliated bank in South Sudan with about $30 million in capital, adding that approval will soon be granted by South Sudan.

The Central Bank of Egypt also granted NBE permission to open a branch in Saudi Arabia, he said, adding that requirements by regulatory authorities in the Kingdom are being finalized.

El-Fettouh said that NBE seeks to consolidate its presence in emerging markets, especially in Africa, which is within the framework of Egypt’s goal to improve economic and commercial relations in the region.