March 3 (SeeNews) - Romania's finance ministry said on Friday it plans to sell about 2.5-3.0 billion euro ($2.6-3.1 billion) worth of eurobonds on the international markets and some 48-50 billion lei (10.6-11.05 billion euro) worth of leu-denominated domestic debt this year.
Romania plans to borrow 2.5-3 billion euro through the issuance of eurobonds, "subject to market conditions and opportunities" and taking into account the need to consolidate the existing foreign currency reserve of the State Treasury, the finance ministry said in its indicative programme for the issuance of government securities in 2017 posted on its website.
The ministry also plans to issue 48-50 billion lei of domestic debt this year. The envisaged maturity structure is 30% of short-term government securities and 70% of medium- and long-term paper, to be achieved by issuing 14-15 billion lei of Treasury bills and benchmark bonds worth some 34-35 billion lei.
The volume of government securities to be issued in 2017 on the domestic market is determined by the budget deficit target of 2.96% of GDP, or 24 billion lei, and by the redemptions of government securities denominated in lei due in 2017.
The budget deficit is to be financed 65% on the domestic market and 35% on the external market.
The finance ministry also said it will "pursue a flexible approach in the implementation of the funding plan in 2017, with a predictable and transparent supply of government securities in order to properly react to the potential changes in the market trends and in the investor behaviour".
Romania's finance ministry plans to auction 3.7 billion lei worth of in government securities in March, according to its debt issuance calendar for the month. The ministry also plans to sell an additional 375 million lei of government paper in non-competitive offers.
In February, the ministry sold 3.32 billion lei in domestic debt paper and an additional 315 million lei in non-competitive offers, below its initial target of 3.9 billion lei.
So far this year, the finance ministry has sold some 7.5 billion lei worth of leu-denominated government securities.
In 2016, it sold roughly 45 billion lei in leu-denominated government securities and 775 million euro in euro-denominated domestic debt and raised 3.25 billion euro on global markets.
(1 euro=4.5328 lei)