The Egyptian government is reportedly considering issuing green bonds worth USD 700 mn next year, Al Borsa reported on Thursday, citing sources it says have knowledge of the matter. The issuance, which is still under study, will be carried out by an Electricity Ministry-affiliated body and the proceeds will be used to fund an unnamed green project, either by the private sector or through a public-private partnership (PPP), according to the news outlet.

Who’s involved? The International Finance Corporation (IFC) will act as an advisor to the offering and may also subscribe to the issuance itself, Al Borsa reported. It was reported that The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) will support the issuance, but the exact details of how the issuance will be guaranteed were not laid out.

I see your USD 700 mn, and raise you USD 5 bn: The Madbouly government is planning to bring in USD 3-5 bn from sovereign green issuances over the next five years, a government official told Enterprise.

In the meantime, a new framework is in the works for sustainable bonds: Egypt is working with the OECD to work out a framework for issuing green, blue, infrastructure, and other sustainable bonds on behalf of government entities, the source told us. The new regulations that will allow government entities to sell bonds tied to sustainability projects should be out in time for a green bond issuance set to happen next year, the source added.

This wouldn’t be Egypt’s first green bond sale: Egypt closed its second green bond issuance earlier this month with a CNY 3.5 bn (USD 478.7 mn) trove of Panda bonds. In 2020, our maiden green bond issuance brought in USD 750 mn and was almost 5x oversubscribed, attracting some USD 3.7 bn worth of orders for the bonds, pointing to growing appetites for climate-friendly securities worldwide.