Romanian Ministry of Finance raises EUR 427 mln in government bonds

The Romanian Ministry of Public Finance ( MFP ) sold Monday ( February 6 ) treasury certificates of EUR 427 million, at an average yield of 5.90 percent per year, and a 12-month deadline, according to the Romanian Central Bank (BNR).

The initial target value announced for the auction was EUR 345 million ( RON 1.5 billion ), but banks oversubscribed, filing requests for about EUR 997 million (RON 4.33 billion). MFP aims to attract about EUR 1.1 billion ( RON 5 billion ) by issuing government bonds in February to finance the budget deficit and refinance debt. Romania sold USD 1.5 billion in its first dollar-denominated bonds on January 31, 2012, at a yield of 6.87 percent and with a 10-year maturity. “The investor interest was huge, considering this is Romania’s first dollar-bond sale and it’s a clear sign of confidence in Romania’s fiscal measures,” Romanian Deputy Finance Minister Bogdan Dragoi said for Bloomberg.com. “The offer attracted bids of almost USD 7 billion,” he added. Romania issued the bonds under the medium-term note program valued at EUR 7 billion. The Finance Ministry sold its first bonds under the program in June 2011 when it raised EUR 1.5 billion through five-year bonds. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com (photo source: Photoxpress.com)