30.04.2025

On 28 April 2025 the Ministry of Finance issued successfully EUR-denominated bonds in two tranches on the international capital markets. The first tranche consists of 9-year bonds to the amount of EUR 2.25 billion and with a coupon of 3.5%. The second tranche consists of 13-year bonds to the amount of EUR 1.75 billion and with a coupon of 4.125%.

The aggregate nominal value of the submitted bids reached EUR 8.7 billion, which corresponds to an oversubscription of 2.2 times. As a result of strong investor interest and confidence, this oversubscription allowed a substantial reduction in the cost of funding for the 9-year bonds to a level of 125 basis points, and for the 13-year bond to a level of 175 basis points relative to the corresponding average interest rate swaps.

The spreads and interest rate coupons achieved represent the best terms achieved in the last 3 transactions on external markets relative to comparable maturity Bulgarian Eurobonds. The nine-year tranche achieved the lowest spread over the average interest rate swaps for the Republic of Bulgaria since 2020.

The timing of going out to the international capital markets was carefully chosen. This contributed to the success in raising the necessary funding in the context of continued uncertainty and volatility in the market environment. The transaction was also positively influenced by the growing confidence of the international investor community in our country, based on the stable macroeconomic environment and the confidence in the expected accession to the euro area.

The double tranche of bonds is part of the GMTN programme for international capital market debt issuance.

The debt operation is within the maximum amount of BGN 18.9 billion for new government debt that may be assumed this year as set out in the Law on the 2025 State Budget of the Republic of Bulgaria. Until the time of the issue the debt financing raised for this year had been BGN 1.8 billion and had been secured by placing GS on the domestic market in the period between January and April 2025.

The concluded transaction follows the main objective of debt management for 2025. The funds raised provide the necessary resource to refinance the outstanding debt, to finance the planned government budget deficit and to secure the liquidity position of the fiscal reserve.