CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt has issued a new rule allowing corporations and other bodies to issue bonds in batches once they receive approval from the regulator, the ministry of investment said on its web site.

Egypt, seeking to spur its bond trading, has been streamlining its rules for both corporate and government instruments and plans more measures in the coming months. It hopes to set up a secondary bond market this year.

Under the new rule, a company can sell bonds in tranches for up to a year after the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority approves their issuance. This will give companies greater flexibility when it seeks to raise funds, the ministry added.

Bonds currently must be issued all at once.

"This comes within a plan to develop, deepen and promote the Egyptian bond market into an effective market for mobilising savings and funding companies operating in Egypt," it said.

The government also plans to reactivate its repurchase agreement (repo) market and introduce bond lending, an investment ministry official told Reuters earlier this year.