Tuesday 19 March 2024
 
»
 
»
Story

Iraq halts plan for bond issue

BAGHDAD, October 11, 2015

Iraq has halted its plan to issue international bonds because the yield it would have to pay on the debt was too high, Deputy Finance Minister Fathil Nabi said on Sunday.

Finance minister Hoshiyar Zebari "ordered that the bond be halted because the interest rate is high", Nabi told Reuters. He did not comment further.

Iraq, which is battling an Islamist insurgency as well as shrinking oil revenues due to low crude prices, held a week of meetings with investors in Europe and the US last month in an effort to attract interest in the planned issue.

It aimed to raise about $2 billion in an initial US dollar-denominated issue, part of a series that would eventually total up to $6 billion.

But investors demanded extremely high yields, which would have been financially burdensome for Iraq if it had agreed to pay them, sources familiar with the matter said.  - Reuters




Tags: Iraq | bond |

More Finance & Capital Market Stories

calendarCalendar of Events

Ads