ATHENS, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Greece drew about 2.5 billion euros (2.75 billion U.S. dollars) from the issue of a new 15-year bond on Tuesday, at an interest rate below 1.90 percentage points, according to state news agency AMNA.
The initial price thoughts (IPTs) announced had been for an interest rate around 1.97 percent, but the size of market demand reduced the final yield.
The issue was several times oversubscribed, as offers came close to 19 billion euros, AMNA reported. The new bond will mature on Feb. 4, 2035, Greece's Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA) announced.
This is the first bond issue for Greece this year, after four issues in 2019 adding up to almost 10 billion euros. The country emerged from its eight-year bailout process in August 2018.
"Today's issue of the 15-year bond is another proof that Greece is bouncing back," said government spokesman Stelios Petsas on Tuesday.
"This is an issue that covers a period up to 2035, that is beyond the period for which the sustainability of the Greek public debt is covered by the Eurogroup decisions," added Petsas, referring to the package of measures agreed by the eurozone finance ministers in June 2018 that eased Greece's debt and ensured its sustainability up to 2032.
This year PDMA has announced that it aims to draw between 4 and 8 billion euros. (1 euro = 1.1 U.S. dollars)
