ECONOMY

‘It’s done. Cyprus back to the markets’

Cyprus returned to international debt markets on Wednesday, just a little over a year after being forced to accept a 10-billion-euro bailout, with a five-year bond issue.

Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said on Twitter: “It’s done. Cyprus back to the markets.”

The bond, he said, was for 750 million euros at an interest rate of 4.75 percent.

In contrast to this public issue, Cyprus placed 100 million euros privately in April, with the six-year paper carrying a coupon of 6.5 percent.

Ruling DISY party spokesman Prodromos Prodromou described the sale as “a critical moment” in restoring confidence in the Cypriot economy.

Despite the quick return to the market, Prodromou added that Cyprus was not out of the woods just yet.

“Great progress has been made by the government but nothing has finished yet. We are still in the middle of a process and we will continue to strive towards restoring the economy.”

In March 2013, Cyprus obtained the bailout from the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund, in exchange for a severe austerity program and a profound restructuring of the bloated banking sector.

[AFP]

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