ISTANBUL - Egypt will issue a bond as soon as markets stabilize, Finance Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali said.

Egypt will likely seek the fresh finance form international organization as "spreads are still very high for emerging market bonds" now, he said on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund here.

"Typically we issue a billion (dollars)," he noted.

The debt issue is not driven by urgent needs, he said.

"Egypt has a comfortable balance of payments situation and we are not in need of foreign financing," Boutros-Ghali said. "But we always use foreign financing to establish a presence," he added.

(Source: Arab Finance)