Albania to enter Eurobonds Market

For the first time in history, the Albanian government has decided to enter the Eurobonds market. The government has planned to issue Eurobonds worth 200-300 million, or around $500 million, a considerate sum, in the first months of 2009. A public notice is expected by the end of September. The Eurobonds maturity will be set at five and ten years.
The reason behind such a dramatic move is to finance part of the 200p electoral SuperBudget, which is estimated to reach $5.2 billion, a $1 billion increase over 2008. The largest part of the money to finance the new budget will come from tax and customs revenues, and the difference will be covered by the Eurobonds.
Also, the Ministry of finance estimates that budget expenses will reach 32.52% of the GDP for next year, while operation and maintenance expenses will increase 16.71% more than the supplementary budget in 2008.