Refinancing debt

Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank, Fransa Invest to manage swap of $2 billion in Eurobonds

The Ministry of Finance announced that it has designated three banks to manage the refinancing of around $2 billion in Eurobonds maturing in 2012.

Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank, and Fransa Invest Bank will lead manage the swap of about $2 billion in Eurobonds.

The Minister of Finance, Mohamad Safadi, had earlier said that he is optimistic about the appetite in the market. He said that Lebanon is pursuing the refinancing early to take advantage of a fall in borrowing costs.

An amount of $600 million in Eurobonds is due to mature in March 2012. The next issue of around €535 million (around $735 million) matures in April, followed by $200 million maturing in July, and $600 million in September 2012.

Merrill Lynch has recently upgraded its recommendation on Lebanon’s external debt to ‘Over Weight’ from ‘Market Weight’, due to their low beta correlation with international markets, given increased global risk aversion.

Last July, the government refinanced $950 million in Eurobonds and interest payments maturing in August by issuing a $1.2 billion dual-tranche Eurobond.