Egypt's Sarwa Capital closes 1.6bn pound securitised bond

Sarwa Capital’s total debt issuance for 2020 has reached 6bn Egyptian pounds

The Sphinx at the Giza pyramids plateau in Egypt. Sarwa Capital's securitised bonds consist of three tranches with tenors of 13, 37 and 60 months. Reuters.

Leasing and finance company Sarwa Capital said it closed a 1.6 billion Egyptian pound ($102.7 million) securitised bond issuance as it looks to grow its credit businesses.

Sarwa Capital's securitised bonds – backed by the portfolios of Sarwa subsidiary Contact Credit and its affiliate companies – consist of three tranches with tenors of 13, 37 and 60 months.

The bonds were rated "AA+", "AA" and "A" respectively by the Middle East Ratings and Investors Service, the company said.

"Notwithstanding the headwinds faced this year, we succeeded in closing 6bn pounds worth of issuances in the capital market, putting Sarwa's financing division in an excellent position, showcasing its financial flexibility while enhancing a strong and liquid balance sheet," said group chief financial officer Ayman El Sawy.

The latest fundraising brings Sarwa Capital's total debt issuance for the year to about 6bn pounds, including an earlier securitisation issue of 1.8bn pounds and a sukuk issue of 2.5bn pounds.

Sarwa Promotion and Underwriting acted as lead manager and underwriter on the transaction.

Misr Capital, Banque Misr, Commercial International Bank, Arab African International Bank and Ahli United Bank were underwriters while Alieldean Weshahi & Partners acted as legal advisers.

Sarwa Capital is a lending business that floated on the Egyptian exchange two years ago.

It offers car loans, consumer credit and insurance products to people and arranges structured loans to corporate clients.

The company's shares have climbed by 17.8 per cent so far this year, even as Egypt’s EGX benchmark index dropped by 21.1 per cent.

The Egyptian exchange was closed on Monday but finished lower on Sunday after the central bank paused monetary easing and concerns grew about the effect of a new strain of Covid-19 on global markets.

The coronavirus-induced economic slowdown in Egypt was “far less severe than expected” and the North African nation is expected to be one of the few countries to register growth this year, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Egypt's latest health ministry figures, issued late on Saturday, show that there has been a total of 131,315 confirmed cases of Covid-19 since the pandemic began in February, while the death toll reached 7,352.