Macedonia sold on Thursday (July 17) EUR 500mn worth of 7-year Eurobonds, priced to yield 4.25%, a record low for the country, the finance ministry said in a statement. The bonds carry an annual coupon of 3.975%. Investor demand was strong with bids worth EUR 1.16bn placed. Deutsche Bank and HSBC were the joint lead managers on the transaction.
Macedonia is rated BB- by S&P and BB+ by Fitch. Both ratings have stable outlooks.
Last week, the ministry said that the proceeds from the potential Eurobond will be used for budget financing needs in 2014 and 2015 as well as for payment of maturing debt, including its first Eurobond that was issued in 2005 and matures in 2015.
Macedonia's debut Eurobond, managed by Citigroup, comprised EUR 150mn in 10-year securities with an annual coupon of 4.625%. The issue attracted bids worth EUR 593mn. The securities will be redeemed at their principal amount in December 2015.
The Balkan country placed a second EUR 175mn Eurobond issue in 2009, which was redeemed in January 2013. The lead manager was HSBC.
Macedonia's consolidated central government debt stood at EUR 2.82bn at end-May 2014. This amount equals 34.9% of GDP. The total included EUR 1.6bn in external debt and EUR 1.22bn in domestic debt.
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