BULGARIA REDUCES DEBT BY $80M

Views on BG | March 25, 2002, Monday // 00:00

By Theodor Troev in Sofia

Bulgaria has reduced its debt by $80m (E91m) after swapping about a quarter of its total Brady debt of $4.78bn for new bonds, according to the government.

Milen Veltchev, Bulgaria's finance minister, said on Sunday that the swap had slightly exceeded expectations.The new Eurobonds are with fixed interest rate. The euro-denominated portion of new debt will mature in 2013. The dollar-denominated bonds will mature in 2015.

Preliminary results of the exchange indicate that Bulgaria will issue $519m of the 2015 Eurobonds with a coupon of 8.25 per cent and E835m of the 2013 Eurobonds with a coupon of 7.5 per cent, in exchange for $1.33bn of Brady bonds.

Fitch Ratings has assigned a long-term foreign currency rating of BB minus to Bulgaria's new euro and US dollar-denominated bonds. The agency said that the exchange will reduce Bulgaria's exposure to US dollar, lower its debt service payments over the next ten years and reduce the face value of its debt.

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