Turkey’s dollar bond sale attracts high demand

By Tuba Sahin and Bahattin Gonultas

ANKARA (AA) – The Turkish Treasury has sold U.S. dollar-denominated bonds in an auction that was more than three times oversubscribed, the institution said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the Treasury had mandated several banks -- Barclays, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Qatar National Bank -- for a dollar-denominated bond issue maturing in 2027 as part of its 2017 external borrowing program.

The Treasury said it borrowed $2 billion through dollar-dominated bond issues, maturing on 25 March 2027 from international investors.

"The offering attracted an orderbook of more than three times the actual issue size from approximately 256 accounts," the Treasury said.

According to the statement, 49 percent of the bonds were sold to investors in the United States while 26 percent were sold to investors in the U.K.

Turkish investors bought 11 percent of the bonds. This was followed by Europe and other regions with 11 percent and three percent respectively.

The coupon rate is six percent and investor's yield is 6.15 percent, the Treasury said.

The proceeds of the issue will be transferred to Treasury accounts on Monday Jan. 23, it added.

"The amount of funds that have been raised from the international capital markets as part of the $6 billion-worth of 2017 Eurobond issuance program has reached $2 billion," the Treasury said.