Ministry of finance to issue Eurobonds

Finance Minister Suleiman Hafez said Wednesday that the government plans to raise between $750 million and $1500 million through issuing Eurobonds in international markets to finance the Kingdom’s spending needs. In a statement issued by the ministry, Hafez said that the government had invited banks and international financial institutions to manage the bond issuance. The ministry, he added, had received several offers and that the consortium of banks would be announced soon. “A specialized committee from the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Jordan is currently studying the offers to pick the best offer in terms of interest rates and issuance costs,” the minister said. He added that the government resorts to this financing tool in order to strike a balance between domestic and external borrowing and provide the Kingdom with a new financing instrument with a lower interest rate. Borrowing to finance the budget deficit had reflected negatively on the performance of the private sector, adding that government competition with the private sector to obtain financing from local banks resulted in higher interest rates in the Jordanian market.