Egypt to Join JPMorgan’s Government Bond Index

Egypt to Join JPMorgan’s Government Bond Index

Egypt's Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait expected his country to join JPMorgan's Government Bond Index Emerging Markets (GBI-EM) suite within a maximum period of six months.

In the event of index inclusion, Egypt would have a weight of about 1.8 percent in GBI-EM Global Diversified, with 14 Egypt government bonds with a total notional value of $24 billion under review for eligibility.

Earlier this month, JPMorgan said it had placed the country on Index Watch Positive after steady improvement in liquidity and access to the onshore government bond markets for foreign investors.

In a press statement on Saturday, Maait said upon its inclusion Egypt and South Africa would become the only two countries in the Middle East and North Africa to join the index.

Egypt is making steady steps towards economic reform to enhance the confidence of international financial institutions and the foreign investment community in the Egyptian financial market, Maait explained.

"It is also set to attract more foreign investors to Egyptian debt instruments in the local currency.“

Egypt, which was removed from the index in the aftermath of a 2011 uprising, has been working for more than two years to be relisted by meeting the requirements of JPMorgan Chase.

These requirements include extending the life