Greece to sell first new bond since return to investment grade

GREECE is pushing ahead with plans to sell its first new sovereign bond since winning back investment grade status.

Athens is planning to raise 10-year euro-denominated debt in a deal that is being managed by Alpha Bank, Barclays, Citigroup, Commerzbank, Nomura Holdings and Société Générale, according to a public statement.

The country’s public debt agency previously said it plans sales of 10 billion euros (S$14.5 billion) in bonds this year to cover financing needs of just under 19 billion euros. The country wants to reduce net debt, with a target of 152 per cent as a ratio of gross domestic product for 2024 from 160 per cent last year, a person familiar said in December.

Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings’ upgraded Greece’s debt late last year, opening the door to a multitrillion-dollar investment pool for the nation’s bonds after a decade-long debt crisis.

With its economy growing at a faster pace than most European peers, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis have pledged that the government will remain committed to a path of fiscal discipline while pushing ahead with divestments from state-held assets.

The country has already held bond auctions since the upgrade, reopening some of its existing debt. Moody’s Investors Service still maintains a junk-rating for Greece. BLOOMBERG