Published: January 29, 2013
The country raised US$2bn of 10- and 30-year notes.
Israel has raised US$2bn on the international bond market for a record-low cost, according to a statement from the country’s Finance Ministry.
The country sold US$1bn of 10-year notes with a yield of 3.213%, a fifth lower than the 4% coupon attached when it came to the market a year ago. It also sold 30-year bonds worth an additional US$1bn, the first to be sold by Israel in 15 years. They were priced at 4.588%.
Israel is the latest country to take advantage of the increased appetite for emerging market debt in light of minimal returns in the US and Western Europe. Last week saw Poland raise US$4.39bn on 5-year bonds, paying 3.44%. A year ago, paper of similar maturity would have yielded more than 5%.
Israel will be looking to take advantage of perceived political stability ahead of its recent general election, which will see Benjamin Netanyahu return for a third term as prime minister. The auction was 4.5 times oversubscribed, with around 95% of the bonds going to foreign investors, the Israeli government confirmed.