April 14 (SeeNews) - Croatia raised 1.25 billion euro ($1.36 billion) by issuing a 10-year Eurobond in its first tapping of international capital markets this year, the finance ministry said.
Despite challenging market conditions amidst rising inflation, stronger monetary policy of central banks, and as a result, higher interest rates and yields on the market, and the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict, demand by international investors was significant, reaching almost 3 billion euro, including investors from the U.S., UK/Ireland, Germany, France, Central and Eastern Europe, Switzerland and the Benelux, the finance ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Eurobond carries an annual coupon of 2.875% and yields 2.975%. It was issued on April 13, 2022 and will mature in 2032.
Joint agents of the issue were Citi, Erste Group, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley.
The achieved final terms confirm Croatia's attractiveness as an issuer and prove the strong investors' trust in the quality of Croatian debt on the international market, the ministry said.
The funding raised through the new issue will be used to finance the general needs of the state budget, including refinancing of an existing 1.25 billion euro Eurobond maturing on May 30, 2022, which has an interest rate of 3.875%.
(1 euro=7.559 Croatian kuna)