Page 27 - bne_newspaper_March_29_2019

Weekly Lists
March 29, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 27
bne:Credit Romania raises €3bn
in Eurobonds and more to come
Romania on March 27 raised €3bn in three Eurobonds with maturities of seven years (€1.15bn), 15 years (€500mn) and 30 years (€1.35bn).
It was the country’s largest combined issue ever and this reflects the government’s need to find financing resources outside the local market where the borrowing cost is rising.
Romania’s public debt service on the external market is nearly RON20bn, or more than €4bn. More Eurobonds will come later this year, as the budget deficit (planned at nearly €6bn this year) is typically 50% financed from the foreign market. Not that the borrowing cost on the external markets are lower, but the maturities are longer than on the local market and the debt can be better spread.
Bonds issued by the International Investment Bank (IIB) were listed on the Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE) on March 27 after it issued HUF24.7bn (€79.1mn) of three-year forint-denominated bonds this week.
IBB's first forint bonds were sold at a 77bp spread over the three- year Hungarian government bond, corresponding to a weighted average yield of 1.98%, the lowest nominal yield ever paid by IIB for a fixed bond issue.
The bond issue is significant and it contributes to strengthening the capital markets of the member states and increases the role of the financial centre of Hungary, said the state secretary of the finance ministry at the opening bell.
Silknet, Georgia’s leading telecommunications operator, on March 27 announced that it has successfully raised $200mn from a 5-year, senior unsecured eurobond issue priced at 11%.
The subsidiary of Silk Road Group is the largest telco in the entire South Caucasus region.
“Investors taking advantage of this issuance will benefit from unrivalled exposure to Georgia, the former CIS's most promising success story for its entrepreneurial business environment,” said David Mamulaishvili, Silknet’s CEO.
Silknet is wholly-owned by Rhinestream Holdings Limited, an entity incorporated in Malta. It is ultimately controlled by Giorgi Ramishvili, the founder of Silk Road Group.
IIB forint bonds start trading on Budapest bourse
Georgia’s Silknet raises $200mn with eurobond issue