MILAN: Italy launched a 15-year bond sale on Tuesday, its first syndicated debt issue in a year, testing market sentiment after the government agreed to cut its budget deficit target for this year following a protracted row with Brussels.
Rome agreed in late December to re-draft its budget for 2019, resolving its dispute with the European Commission and ending months of market turbulence. That brought down yields on Italian debt, underlined by successful auctions last week.
Italy last completed a syndicated deal in January last year when it sold a 20-year bond -- before a populist government came to power in the summer, sapping appetite for Italian debt.
The new bond, due March 2035, carried initial price guidance of 20-22 basis points over Italy's outstanding September 2033 issue, according to a lead manager.
The Treasury is now taking indications of interest and expects to price the benchmark-sized deal later on Tuesday.
Barclays, Citi, HSBC, JP Morgan and UniCredit are joint lead managers for the deal.
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