Israel sells USD 8 billion in new bonds, first issue since start of war

Tel Aviv [Israel], March 7 (ANI/TPS): Israel's Ministry of Finance announced that the Accountant General, Yehli Rotenberg, completed a public issue of dollar bonds in the international markets Wednesday with a total volume of USD 8 billion. This was the first such issue since the start of the war against Hamas in Gaza began five months ago.
In the issue, the highest demand ever in the history of the State of Israel was recorded in the amount of about USD 38 billion, 4.75 times the amount issued.
As part of the issue, three new bonds were issued for terms of five years, 10 years and 30 years. The spread of the issue was 135, 145 and 175 basis points respectively, above the US government bond yield for a similar period.
About 400 different investors from about 36 countries all over the world took part in the offering. The underwriters in the issue were Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, and Goldman Sachs.
Accountant General Rotenberg said the success of the IPO is an "unprecedented expression of confidence by the world's largest international investors in the Israeli economy, a trust that has been built up over many years and enables the diversification and deepening of government debt financing channels."
"The ability to raise debt in the international markets, even during the war, in very significant volumes, and with high coverage ratios, shows the high accessibility of the State of Israel to the markets and is evidence of the strength of the Israeli economy," he added. (ANI/TPS)