Romania has sought to borrow from international markets today, according to Bloomberg. The Ministry of Finance issued bonds with 5-year and 9-year maturities in euros, as well as 12-year bonds in dollars.
The indicative interest rates at the start of the issue are very high, reflecting the government’s need for funds, the challenging conditions in external markets at this time, and the less-than-positive perception of investors regarding Romania’s financial stability and solvency, especially after two major rating agencies downgraded the country’s outlook to negative. Interest rates are likely to decrease throughout the day as investors submit offers.
In euros, the Romanian state wants to borrow with 5-year bonds (due in March 2030) and 9-year bonds (due in September 2034), and in dollars with 12-year bonds (February 2037). The 5-year euro bonds are quoted at the opening of the issue at the midswap (MS) rate + 330 basis points, and the 9-year ones at MS + 420 points.
The dollar bonds are quoted at the benchmark + 325 points. The yields are indicative and could decrease throughout the day, as investors submit offers. A high interest in subscription would help the state close these loans under better conditions. The 5-year MS rate is 2.26%, the 9-year is 2.35%. For dollar bonds, the benchmark is given by the US Treasury securities for the same period, currently at 4.35%.
The arrangers are Bank of America, Erste, GS (B&D), ING, MS and RBI.