Turkey's Eximbank realizes $750M bond issuance

By Yunus Girgin

ANKARA (AA) - Turk Eximbank made bond issuances worth $750 million with a five-year term in foreign markets to expand investors’ volume, the bank said on Wednesday.

Under the joint global coordination of Citigroup and Standard Chartered Bank, the bond issuance was made through ICBC Standard Bank Plc, ING Bank, Mizuho International plc, MUFG Securities, SMBC Nikko Capital Markets Limited, and Societe Generale, according to a Turk Eximbank statement.

"27% of the bond was sold to investors in the US, followed by the UK with 27%, other European countries with %30, Asia and the Middle East with 16%", the bank added.

The cost of the transaction is expected to be around 420 basis points after the swap to the euro, which is the currency favored by Turkish exporters when using loans.

Ali Guney, the bank's CEO, said this five-year maturity, $750 million resource is also important for reaching the bank's 10% growth target in 2021 on a dollar basis.

Stressing that this is the highest-value bond transaction issued by Turk Eximbank at one time, Guney added: "Thanks to the strong demand, which was above $3 billion, we are pleased to complete our transaction 62.5 basis points below the initially announced interest rate."