30-year bond: Greece raises 3 billion euros

Greece raised 3 billion euros from the issue of a 30-year bond, receiving 33-billion-euro offers, with the interest rate lower by 15 points from the original guidance.

The interest rate on the coupon issue was set lower than originally estimated, at 4.15% instead of 4.30%.

Managers of the new syndicated issue were BNP Paribas SA, Bank of America Corp., Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co and Piraeus Bank SA.

National Economy and Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis commented: “The issuance of a 30-year bond, which PDMA proceeded with today, is an important success for the country and another vote of confidence investors in the prospects of the Greek economy. In a period of international geopolitical uncertainty, the Greek issue was oversubscribed 11 times as investor bids exceeded 33 billion euros, while the interest rate was set at a level that certifies the investment grade and compares directly to the corresponding interest rates of other countries of the eurozone.”

“The success reflects, among other things, the positive assessments of the international community rating agencies, which in turn are based on prudent fiscal policy, which the Greek government implements and will continue to implement consistently,” he added.