QUITO: Ecuador sold $2 billion in government-backed bonds, in a return to international markets after a partial debt default in 2008 and 2009, the finance ministry said Tuesday.
The bonds, in the international capital market, "were negotiated for a term of 10 years and a yield of 7.95 percent," the ministry said in a statement.
"Demand for our bonds had been much higher than what we are offering, demonstrating confidence in our country," it added.
The negotiation over the bonds was done in the United States by a team of finance ministers and Ecuador's central bank.
President Rafael Correa cheered the news, telling reporters "we have done very well in international markets" with the issue of $2 billion in bonds.
In 2008, Correa's socialist government decreed a section of the public debt "illegitimate" and suspended payment.
In order to rejoin the international bond market, Ecuador negotiated recently to buy back some of its debt at between 65 and 70 percent of its original value, for a total of $900 million.
Ecuador's total national debt was $12.9 billion, the central bank said, including a large portion owed to China and taken out during the Correa administration.
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