Greece is making its first market foray for 2021, by issuing a new ten-year bond to further strengthen its cash reserves.
The decision for a benchmark issue is neither by chance nor hasty, with the Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA) weighing developments in the bond market, the mood of investors and the recommendations of primary dealers, it commented.
Last week’s exchange of bonds with Greek systemic lenders by reissuing a 30-year bond at a historically low interest rate also helped the PDMA in its decision, as it was a strong signal to markets that Greece has no financing or liquidity problems.
The new ten-year paper matures in 2031, and the issue will be undertaken by six investment banks: Barclays, Citi, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Nomura and Greece’s Eurobank. Although the PDMA did not say how much cash it intends to collect in its stock market announcement yesterday, market sources say EUR 2.5-3 billion, while the interest rate is expected to be well below 0.8%, marking a new historical minimum for Greece’s costs.
