Greece raises $2.7 billion as new 5-year bond sees strong demand
Greece raised 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) on Wednesday with strong demand for a new 5-year bond, the day after Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called elections in late May.
Traders said Greece’s debt agency was aiming to cover most of the annual borrowing needs before the country entered to a protracted pre-election period.
“It was the right decision at the right time,” told Reuters Kostas Boukas asset manager at Beta Securities in Athens.
The final pricing for the 5-year bond was set at mid-swaps plus 90 basis points. Demand exceeded 19.1 billion euros, the country’s debt agency said in a bourse filing.
Greece covered almost 90% of its annual borrowing needs with the new syndicated bond, paying a yield of about 3.93%.
The country plans to borrow a total of 7 billion euros this year through new issues and reopening other maturities. It raised 3.5 billion euros from a new 10-year bond in January.
“The fact that Greece will not issue another syndicated bond this year boosted demand,” Boukas added.
Mitsotakis called parliamentary elections for May 21 but the vote is unlikely to produce a clear winner, setting the stage for protracted political manoeuvring and a runoff vote.
[Reuters]
