Cyprus selling December retail bonds in bulk

Foreign investors bid for more than three times the amount of retail bonds offered by Cyprus in December 2014 and bought the vast majority of six-year issue, the Finance Ministry said recently.

Cyprus accepted bids for bonds worth €36.65 million from 49 investors after an initial offer of €10m worth of bonds, financial authorities said.

Bailed out by international lenders in 2013, Cyprus launched a retail bond programme in May 2014.

The coupon on the bonds fluctuates between 2.75% and 5.75%, depending on how quickly they are redeemed. Some 93% of the December bids were submitted by foreign investors, Cyprus's Finance Ministry said in a statement.

The issue date is January 2, 2015. Registration for a second bond issue to retail investors worth up to €10m would be valid from January 2 to January 20, 2015, with a February 2 issue date, the Finance Ministry said.

Source: Cyprus Mail