BELGRADE: Serbia sold 43.3 million euros ($56.65 million) in 5-year euro-denominated treasury bonds on the domestic market on Tuesday, which was 86.6 percent of the 50 million euros on offer, the finance ministry said.
This was the first sale of euro-denominated maturities in the second quarter in which the ministry plans to auction a total of 125 million euros. It was also the first sale of five-year euro-denominated bonds this year.
The euro-denominated bond yielded 5 percent and will mature on April 18, 2018, the ministry said in a statement.
On May 22 the ministry will offer 50 million euros in 24-month maturities with a 4.5 percent coupon, payable annually, while in June it plans auctions of 75 million euros and 50 million euros in 53-week and three-year treasury bonds.
Between January and March, Belgrade sold 130 million euros in euro-denominated securities at home. In February it borrowed $1.5 billion through a seven-year Eurobond.
Serbia, a candidate for European Union membership, must borrow at home and abroad to plug a budget gap seen at 3.6 percent of gross domestic product this year.
The government in Belgrade is also seeking to emerge from a 1.7 percent recession in 2012 and to secure a 2 percent growth this year.
Serbia's total public debt stood at 57.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), or about 19.4 billion euros, at the end of March and it is expected to rise to 65 percent by the end of the year.
Belgrade has also sought loans from sovereign lenders, including Russia, China and the United Arab Emirates, to finance the budget and overhaul dated infrastructure.
To assure investors, Serbia hopes to restart talks on a precautionary loan deal with the International Monetary Fund next month. The IMF last year suspended a previous 1 billion euro loan deal due to Serbia's overspending and rising debt.
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