PM: Egyptian banks to issue 5-year investment vehicles for Suez Canal

Egypt’s prime minister said on Thursday its banks would issue five-year “Suez Canal investment certificates” with a 12 percent interest rate and quarterly dividends.

Ibrahim Mehleb said the new Suez Canal project, announced earlier this month, would cost about 60 billion Egyptian pounds ($8.4 billion) and be funded by debt certificates to be issued “in about a week,” according to the state-run al-Ahram news portal.

Egypt plans to build a new canal alongside the existing, 145-year-old waterway to expand trade along what is the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia.

The project includes the development of 76,000 sq km (29,000 sq miles) around the canal into an international industrial and logistics hub to attract more ships and generate income.