Egypt's Spring Revolution (2011-2013)

[Surferbeetle]

Egypt’s population size is approximately 80 million persons and it has an approximate debt of 80 billion USD.

Reflections on the Revolution in Egypt, By Gideon Rachman, Published: February 14 2011 21:28, Financial Times

The Egyptian revolution was driven, not just by the internet, but by many of the same forces that have sparked revolutions throughout the ages: hatred of a corrupt autocracy and its secret police; the frustrations of a rising middle class; the desperation of the poor.

This is a country where 44 per cent of the population is illiterate or semi-literate and where 40 per cent live on less than $2 a day. Low wages, rising food prices and high youth unemployment mean that there are plenty of frustrated people, whose voices will now be heard in a freer political climate. The government is already running a big budget deficit, so has few resources to buy off the discontented.

Egypt faces bleak outlook on debt, by Robin Wigglesworth, Published: February 9 2011 16:21 | Last updated: February 9 2011 16:21, Financial Times

Egypt’s political upheaval sent the yield on the government’s 5.75 per cent bond due in April 2020 to a record of 7.2 per cent on January 31, when Egyptian credit-default swaps – a kind of bond default insurance – soared to 450 basis points. The yield on Egypt’s 2020 bond has since eased to about 6.3 per cent, and the cost of Egyptian CDSs has dropped to 345 basis points, according to Markit, a data provider.

Egypt Unrest Hits Projects, by Debra K. Rubin and Gary J. Tulacz, with Peter Reina, Jenna McKnight, Scott Lewis, and Tom Sawyer, Engineering News-Record, February 14, 2011

A look at major projects in Egypt

• Al Dabaa nuclear powerplant, Est. cost 4 billion USD, Egyptian and Austrailian firms involved

• Cairo Metro transit line No. 3, Est. cost 3 billion USD, French and Egyptian firms involved

• Nile Corniche mixed use development, Est. cost 1 billion USD, Dubai and Egyptian firms involved

• Grand Egyptian Museum, Est. cost 800 million USD, US, UK, and Egyptian firms involved

• Mall of Egypt, Est. cost 770 million USD, US and Egyptian firms involved

Credit Default Swaps

In its simplest form, a credit default swap is a bilateral contract between the buyer and seller of protection. The CDS will refer to a "reference entity" or "reference obligor", usually a corporation or government. The reference entity is not a party to the contract. The protection buyer makes quarterly premium payments—the "spread"—to the protection seller. If the reference entity defaults, the protection seller pays the buyer the par value of the bond in exchange for physical delivery of the bond, although settlement may also be by cash or auction.[1][2] A default is referred to as a "credit event" and includes such events as failure to pay, restructuring and bankruptcy.[2] Most CDSs are in the $10–$20 million range with maturities between one and 10 years.[3]