Greek debt situation delays Eurobond issue

TIRANA, May 15 – Prime Minister has admitted the delay in Albania first-ever Eurobond issue because of the Greece’s severe debt situation, but assured Albania will not withdraw from the process.
“Every European government has postponed the process even those which are 2A. There were even governments which told their mediators to withdraw when the Greek bonds reached the junk status. We did not withdraw. After the EU and IMF decision to bail out the Greek financial system, the markets are emerging from a shock following the statement by Standard and Poor’s on the junk status of Greek bonds,” said Berisha without giving a deadline when the Eurobond will be issued.
Albania is “monitoring the markets” to chose the “best timing” for the debut bond in euros that it planned to sell by the end of April, Deputy Finance Minister Nezir Haldeda said earlier.
Government plans to raise as much as 400 million euros ($532 million) of bonds in a debut international offering postponed by two years because of the global financial crisis. Deutsche Bank AG and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are managing the sale. The Finance Ministry will use almost 200 million euros to pre-pay a syndicated loan, according to a statement. The bonds are to mature in 3 to 5 years with an interest rate of up to 7.5%.