Finance Ministry in Romania raises EUR 120 mln through benchmark bonds

Romania's Finance Ministry has sold benchmark bonds of around EUR 120 million on Thursday, at an average yield of 7.18 percent a year, according to the Romanian Central Bank (BNR). The bonds have a 40-month deadline. The initial value for the bid was of EUR 120 million, but banks have placed purchases offers for more than double this amount. The Ministry plans to attract up to EUR 1 billion through bond sales in June, in order to cover the budget deficit and finance the public debt. It also plans to sell discounted treasury certificates in June, with a planned value of around EUR 338 million. The country's Finance Ministry raised around EUR 9.7 billion last year. The year before, the country managed to raise over EUR 15 billion, five times more than in 2008. The plan is to raise at least EUR 3 billion in the second half of this year from the domestic market, through state titles. editor@romania-insider.com