Finance Minister Constantinos Petrides expressed on Tuesday his satisfaction over the conclusion of a double bond issue, that will secure the biggest part of the country’s borrowing needs for 2020, while repaying an IMF rescue loan earlier than planned.
The 10-year and 20-year euro denominated bonds, of €1bln and €750m respectively, have low interest rates. Their indicative yields so far stand at 0.73% for the 10-year bond and at 1.33% for the 20-year bond.
Total bid value exceeded 13 billion, comprising the largest bid in the history of this type of bond issue, and exceeded the original request by almost seven times, Petrides says.
The Finance Minister notes, among others, that the bond will be used to repay the IMF loan earlier, “proving that Cyprus is able to cover its own financing needs from the markets.” With the repayment, Cyprus will save more than €15m in interest rates, he adds.
Repaying the IMF loan is also expected to impact positively on capital markets, enhancing the credibility of the Republic of Cyprus towards investors, according to the Minister. Our goal is to secure our country’s stability and growth perspective, Petrides concludes.
(Cyprus News Agency)
