Romania seeks to diversify financing to keep borrowing costs competitive

Romania is looking to alternative parts of the bond markets to keep its borrowing costs as competitive as possible, the head of Treasury Stefan Nanu said in Vienna on January 24, as quoted by Reuters and Daily Mail.

Romania plans to tap the foreign markets with an FX bond as soon as the end of January, Romanian finance minister Barna Tanczos said the day before.

Romania's public financing policy came under pressure after Fitch cut the outlook on the country's fragile BBB- rating in December. The government in Bucharest is expected to draft the 2025 budget planning with a 7%-of-GDP deficit target by the end of the month after the public gap reportedly reached 8.6% of GDP in 2024.

"Definitely we will have another green (bond)," said Nanu. Romania will also consider selling a "samurai" bond, he added.

In 2024, Romania resumed the issuance of Samurai bonds for the first time in several years.

There are "still large needs for us this year with a (government forecast) 7% of GDP budget deficit," the head of the Romanian Treasury said, stressing that the debt agency would need to use "diversification" to try and offset the market volatility.

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