Romania To Launch 1st International MTN Issue Before July

05.10.2011 ZF English

Romanian Finance Ministry will launch a first international bond issue of its EUR7 billion medium term notes (MTNs) program before July, followed by another issue in the second half of 2011, a ministry official said Tuesday.

"As the IMF mission head said yesterday (Monday - e.n.), we will launch the first issue in the first half of the year and will launch another in the second half. We plan to stay in constant touch with investors," Finance Ministry state secretary Bogdan Dragoi told reporters.

Jeffrey Franks, head of the review mission of the International Monetary Fund, Monday told a news conference in Bucharest that Romania will go on the international markets in the first half of this year, namely in the next two months.

In 2010, Romania announced a three-year MTNs program worth up to EUR7 billion. However, the country didn't attract any funds via the program so far.

Last week, the ministry sold debt worth EUR939 million in three-year foreign currency bonds on the local market, at an average interest of 4.89% a year.

The latest international debt sale took place in March 2010, when the ministry attracted EUR1 billion in a five-year Eurobond, at an annual yield of 5.17%.