Greek Finance Minister Christos Staikouras welcomed the successful return of the country to capital markets on Wednesday with a reissue of a 7-year bond and noted that this was another strong vote of confidence for the Greek economy.
“Our country, even in this liquid international environment, manages to move steadfastly as a classic issuer-member of the Eurozone, safeguarding its steady presence in international markets,” Staikouras said.
He added that although the latest issue showed an increase in borrowing cost, due to the international conditions, it remained lower compared with 2019 levels.
Staikouras noted that the government has already covered a significant part of its bond issuance programme for 2022, preserving the country’s cash reverses at safe levels and ensuring the necessary funds to continue supporting households and enterprises hit by higher energy costs.
A book-building process for the reissue of a 7-year bond attracted strong interest on Wednesday, with bids exceeding 5.8 billion euros with only half an hour remaining for the completion of the process, sources said.
The same sources noted that increased interest contributed in revising down the guidance for the interest rate to mid swap +110 bps from mid swap +115 bps at the opening of the book-building process.
Meanwhile, a six-month Treasury bill auction was successfully completed. The Greek state raised 812.5 million euros from the auction at an interest rate of -0.14% (-0.20% in the previous auction).
The Greek state raised 1.5 billion euros from the market with the reissue of a seven-year bond that concluded on Wednesday.
The sale attracted offers worth 4.8 billion euros, with the initial guidance driven downward to mid swaps +110 bps from mid swaps +115 bps at the opening of the book-building process, for an interest rate in the region 2.51 pct from 2.57 pct.
The issue matures in April 2027 and was issued with a coupon of 2 pct and a yield of 2.103 pct.
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