27.01.2012

\"We are now considering a more mixed strategy where we will tap the domestic market and for the remainder we will go to the eurobond market\", Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Simeon Djankov said in an interview for Reuters. 

The Agency reminds that Bulgaria has one of the lowest debt-to-GDP ratios at 16 percent, but that it has 816 million euros in a bond redemption due in January 2013. The Eurobond could be for a seven-year term and worth between 500 million and 1 billion euros, Minister Djankov specified. The domestic market looks attractive after the government sold seven-year paper at a yield of 3.9 percent this week states the Agency and quotes the Finance Minister according to whom. pension funds and local banks have extra liquidity and would be willing to put it in government papers. 

In the interview Simeon Djankov further said that the government aimed to sell a stake of between 10 to 25 percent in state energy company BEH via a foreign stock exchange by the end of the year, which could raise \"several hundred million euros\".  The government should beat its budget deficit target of 1.3 percent of GDP this year, which was important to avoid pressure on its currency peg to the euro, Minister Djankov said and added that its economic growth estimate of 2.8 percent now looked achievable. \"The government is not worried about that peg because it is actually to the Deutsche mark and - in the event of any changes to the euro zone - it would continue to follow whatever Germany used\", Djankov reminded.

\"There are signs in the last few weeks of Europe doing better than the very pessimistic forecasts that were coming out,\" he said. \"This is also the case for Bulgaria.\". The Agency notes that Bulgaria is still recovering from a deep recession but grew about 2.3 percent last year . \"By maintaining a tight fiscal policy Bulgaria has not had to bring in severe austerity measures like neighbours Greece and Romania\", the Bulgarian Finance Minister stated before Reuters.