September 5 (SeeNews) - Montenegro plans to borrow 500 million euro ($552 million) on the global financial markets by issuing Eurobonds by the end of this month, finance minister Darko Radunovic has said.
The proceeds will be used to refinance public debt, which is expected to fall below 60% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022, the finance ministry quoted Radunovic as saying in a press release on Wednesday.
"For a second year in a row, we have complied with the golden rule to finance current spending by current revenues; we will end 2019 with a deficit below 3%," Radunovic said during a meeting with Anthony De Lannoy, executive director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In July, Montenegro's parliament adopted a revision of the 2019 state budget and a plan for the borrowing of 500 million euro to refinance debt. The financing will be borrowed at an interest rate of 3%, Radunovic said back then.
Montenegro's 2018 budget deficit amounted to 159.2 million euro, equivalent to 3.5% of the country's GDP.
($ = 0.905808 euro)