CYPRUS: Seven banks to assist with bond issues, 1.2-1.5 bln in 2018

The Cyprus government plans to raise about EUR 1.2 bln to 1.5 bln from the markets next year, for which it has appointed seven banks “in order to further develop a well-functioning and efficient secondary market for the sovereign bonds of the Republic of Cyprus,” the Finance Ministry’s Public Debt Management Office said.

It said it has selected seven international investment banks “to act as a core bank group for the sovereign.”

The appointed banks are Barclays Bank plc, Citi, Goldman Sachs International, HSBC, J. P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking.

“As members of the bank group, the banks will be asked to take on the role of lead manager in the Republic’s syndications in the international market and will work closely with the PDMO” in the secondary market development, it said.

Earlier, the PDMO announced it plans six 13-week bond issues in the first half 2018 to raise some EUR 1.2 bln to 1.5 bln in long-term borrowing “for various infrastructure projects and financing needs of the Republic.”

The basket of investment instruments carries a 23-25% weight in bond issues, 63-66% from European Medium-Term Note (EMTN) issues, 3-8% from retail bond issues and a further 3-8% from bilateral lending agreements.