CB plans sovereign bond issue this year

Sri Lanka may go for an International Sovereign Bond (ISB) issue before the end of this year on top of the plans to raise US $ 500 million through Panda and Samurai bonds.

Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy said the Central Bank wants to go for the ISB “as early as possible” before the interest rates go up any further. 

Sri Lanka will also be receiving US $ 1 billion from China Development Bank as a syndicated loan in a couple of weeks’ time and the Central Bank may look at upsizing the loan to US $ 1.5 billion, given the attractive 5.25 percent interest rate attached to the loan.

Mirror Business a couple of weeks ago exclusively reported the Central Bank’s plans to raise US $ 250 million through a Panda bond issuance with the assistance of People’s Bank of China before the end of this year.

The Central Bank is expected to call for expressions of interest to appoint lead managers to the issue shortly.

Japan Bank for International Corporation-backed US $ 250 million Samurai bond issue will most likely be issued early next year.