Egypt taps HSBC, Morgan on new issue

Egypt, which plans to tap the Eurobond market for $1billion-$1.5bn within weeks, has mandated HSBC and Morgan Stanley for the issue, bankers said yesterday. The bond would be Egypt's first such issue since 2007.

Finance Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali said this month that Egypt was looking at maturities of up to 20 to 30 years.

The Egyptian government signed two deals for a combined $537 million in loans.