Luxembourg, 23/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - The European Investment Bank (EIB) is planning to launch its first bond issue in Romanian Leu (RON) on the Romanian domestic market. The bond will be a rarity for the domestic market in offering a benchmark-sized issue from a Triple-A rated issuer. The bond is also expected to offer innovation in terms of maturity. The 'domestic' format of the bond means it would be listed in Romania and issued under local law and clearing systems, enhancing accessibility for domestic investors.
The planned issue is intended to offer investors a new top quality liquid complement to Romanian government bonds and to add a new point on the benchmark yield curve. The EIB explains that the planned issue would constitute a significant source of diversification in a market where the government has been the largest player. The subscription period is expected to begin in April 2007. The issue will be open to both institutional and retail investors. A preliminary offering prospectus is now available from ABN AMRO (Romania) and from the EIB website http://www.eib.org/investor_info.
This planned bond issue extends the EIB's strong track record in contributing to the development of markets in new EU member states and potential future member countries, with issuance in 8 such currencies (Bulgarian leva, Czech koruna, Hungarian forint, Maltese lira, Polish zloty, Slovenian tolar, Slovak koruna and Turkish lira) in the past five years. The EIB says it has 'not only assisted capital market evolution but also, where possible and appropriate, supported local currency lending activities in these markets'.
The planned issue in RON helps pave the way for future EIB lending in RON. In recent years the EIB has been one of the largest external lenders in Romania, lending EUR 4.9 bn since 1993, for projects in roads, motorways, energy, water/wastewater, health and education as well as private sector investments. (ol)