ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece raised 2.5 billion euros ($3 billion) through two bond issues Wednesday, taking advantage of high investor demand to boost the country’s cash reserves, Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said.
Staikouras said the twin issue — a 5-year and a 30-year bond — attracted substantial demand among investors and carried “historically low” interest rates.
He said the 5-year bond had an “almost zero” rate, while the 30-year issue carried a lower rate than a similar bond sold in March, when the rate was just below 2%.
Greece has for years successfully tapped bond markets it previously was locked out of due to its 2010 financial crisis and subsequent international bailouts, which ended in 2018.
That’s despite Greece’s low credit rating, which remains below investment grade even after a series of upgrades by major ratings agencies.
The country had already raised about 11 billion euros in bond issues this year, and with Wednesday’s sale has exceeded its annual target for borrowing from markets.
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