ROMANIA RIDES OUT UKRAINE JITTERS ISSUER STRATEGY

摘要

In 2013, Romania was the best-performing economy in Europe, with economic growth of 3.5%. Momentum continued in 2014 and the economy of this small central European state expanded a further 3.8% year on year during the first three months of the year. Against this backdrop, the government was keen to front-load its 2014 financing needs and test the market with new, longer dated issuance. In January, the sovereign thrust into the dollar market, raising $2bn, divided equally between a 10-year issue and a 30-year transaction. "This was the first time Romania had ever tapped the 30-year market but the deal was very successful. It was over-subscribed six times so lots of US investors were left unsatisfied and we saw considerable demand from European investors too," says Stefan Nanu, general director at Romania's Ministry of Finance. "The next logical step was to issue in euros," he adds.