Public Debt Management Agency

The cost of borrowing for the Greek state is now at a historic low of 1.5 percent, as Tuesday's reopening of last March's 10-year bond issue is tangible evidence of the return of investor interest to Greece and the improved prospects of the Greek economy.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the historically low yield recorded at Greece's 10-year-bond reopening on Tuesday is "yet another vote of confidence" in the country's economy and strong growth prospects.

Greece raised 1.5 billion euros from the sale in which the initial guide price for the bond implied a yield of 1.55 percent.

The Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA) on Wednesday announced it had successful auctioned 26-week treasury bills, with the desired amount of 625 million euros oversubscribed 2.44 times, leading to a particularly low interest rate of 0.097 percent, compared to a rate of 0.150 percent at the previous auction in late August.
The settlement date is Friday.

Greece's 10-year bond that was issued last March is to be reopened next week in a bid to enhance the liquidity of the bond market after the rapid decline in Greek debt yields to historic lows.

The Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA) is considering swapping bonds from the 2012 private sector involvement (PSI) debt easing scheme that did not participate in the 2017 swap, by reopening last March's 10-year bond issue. Sources say that US bank Goldman Sachs will run the project.

French company Lazard will be the new consultant of the Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA), replacing Rothschild, with the aim of bringing Greek bonds back to investment grade within the next couple of years.

This decision was reached on Wednesday by the government's Economic Policy Council on the recommendation of the PDMA and an opinion by the State Legal Council.

The Public Debt Management Agency wants to limit Greece's exposure to treasury bill issues with the aim of preparing the country for a possible run from them in case the world economy slows down.
Despite the fact that yields on Greek T-bills are at record lows, they are still several rungs below investment grade.

The government hailed Tuesday's seven-year bond issue as a vote of confidence in Greece's growth prospects, after the country's third market foray this year was more than five times oversubscribed and attracted significant interest from long-term investors.

Greece's first post-election bond issue fetched 2.5 billion euros on Tuesday, securing a yield of 1.9 percent and a strong interest by long-term investors, according to the Greek national news agency AMNA.

Greece will be making its first foray into the money markets under the new, center-right government, issuing a seven-year bond that will be the third debt issue this year, on Tuesday, according to sources.