site.btaBulgaria Raises Slightly over EUR 2 Bln in New Debt at Lower Premium Than Previous Issue

Finance Minister Assen Vassilev told reporters Bulgaria raised a new debt of slightly over EUR 2 billion on the international markets on Monday.

Vassilev said the debt is envisaged in the 2023 State Budget Act. The issue was extremely successful, with orders exceeding the bond value nearly three times. The seven-year debt was raised at a premium of about 150bp, 1.5pp above standard and at a much lower cost than Bulgaria's previous issue whose premium was over 2.25pp higher. The premium of the latest issue was also much lower than that of Bulgaria's direct competitors Hungary and Romania where premiums go up to 3.3%, the Finance Minister said.

Vassilev called the issue very successful. Most of this debt will go towards refinancing as a EUR 1.5 billion matures in 2024.