Banking & Finance Egypt eyes more green ‘Samurai’ bonds amid Japanese demand By Pramod Kumar September 26, 2022, 5:29 AM Reuters/Florence Lo A Samurai bond is a yen-denominated bond issued in Tokyo by non-Japanese firms and is managed under Japanese regulations Egypt is considering issuing more green Samurai bonds with Japan during the coming months, Egypt Today newspaper reported, citing finance minister Mohamed Maait. The country’s first Samurai bonds, valued at 60 billion Japanese yen ($416.47 million), attracted many Japanese investors, he stated. The Samurai bond is a yen-denominated bond issued in Tokyo by non-Japanese firms and is managed under Japanese regulations. Maait said that the volume of Japanese direct investments in Egypt increased by 52 percent during the fiscal year of 2021/2022, while the volume of bilateral trade in 2021 reached $1.5 billion, up 13 percent year-on-year. On the other hand, the government has achieved a primary surplus of 1.3 percent, reducing the total deficit to 6.1 percent. The debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 87.2 percent by the end of June 2022. The minister further stated that the government plans to maintain fiscal discipline and improve health, education, and social protection spending to mitigate the inflationary impact.
