Minister Bode says Albania is eager to issue more euro-denominated bonds with a maturation time of up to 10 years if the interest rate is appropriate.
TIRANA, Jan. 28 – As Albania tries to raise 300 million euros issuing its first ever euro bonds, 19 banks, including some of the continent’s largest, have expressed interest in purchasing Albanian debt, Finance Minister Ritvan Bode said in a press conference this week.
Mr. Bode named Deutsche Bank as one of the largest financial organizations that had expressed interest and submitted documentation.
Albania is eager to issue more euro-denominated bonds with a maturation time of up to 10 years if the interest rate is appropriate, taking under consideration the state of the international credit markets.
Mr. Bode said it was high time for the bonds to go live, as Albania had postponed their issuance twice since 2008, due to the uncertainty of the markets at the height of the global financial crisis.
“This has been a desire of ours the past two years, but due to the unstable situation in financial markets, due to the crisis which began in 2008 and lasted until 2009, we postponed it,” Mr. Bode said. “Current conditions are more relaxed and the financial market is performing better.”
He added that Croatia and Slovenia have announced similar bids to raise 1 billion euros.
Albania is turning to selling international bonds as other types of credit have tightened considerably due to the global recession and issuing bonds offers a way to finance public projects at a better rate, according to the government.
Foreign consultants for euro bond sale
Albania’s government has budgeted about 200,000 dollars for a four-month contract to hire foreign consultants to help Albanian officials sell euro bonds in the international markets, according to the latest official procurement bulletin.
The Ministry of Finance announced last week it would appoint an international consultant from the pool of those that submitted their documents by Jan. 30.
In addition to the consultants, the ministry has also purchased ads on the Financial Times, at a cost of tens of thousands of euros.
The bonds are expected to be sold by the end of May and the consultants work will end then.
Looking to raise at least 300 million euros, Albania announced earlier this month that it would selling its first bonds in a foreign currency to finance budget shortfalls in 2010, government officials announced last week.
