FinMin: Gov't Bonds Bought by over 21,000 People, Project Exceeded Expectations

Bratislava, March 13 (TASR) - The first sale of government bonds for the public to take place in Slovakia exceeded expectations, with a total volume of €500 million being sold out in 3.5 days, and so the project will be continued in future years, Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenicky (Smer-SD) told a news conference dedicated to the evaluation of the project on Thursday, with Debt Management and Liquidity Agency (ARDAL) director Daniel Bytcanek in attendance. A total of 21,200 investors bought bonds for the public. The average invested sum amounted to €22,600, with most people investing between €4,000 and €10,000. "I myself was very surprised how quickly the bonds started to sell out. Mr. Bytcanek and I expected that it would take some two weeks and that we would have to increase the volume to the final €500 million during the last (third) week. In the end, we had to do so right after the first day," stated Kamenicky. The minister highlighted the fact that a government bond is a safe investment and in this case, attractive terms were set to make it worthwhile for people. "Slovak citizens know how to count, and I thank them for their trust," added the minister. According to Kamenicky, there's still huge demand for government bonds among the public. "I have to say that we get calls from people every day asking if we'll continue with this project. We will continue with it, but as we've already announced, such projects need some time for preparation, so the next bonds won't be issued until next year," said Kamenicky, adding that the specific terms will be set depending on the situation on the financial markets at the given time. The Finance Ministry and ARDAL prepared an issue of two bonds for the public, Investor and Patriot, with differing maturity periods. It was floated on Monday, March 3. The total volume of the issue was initially set at €400 million, but it was subsequently increased to €500 million. The bonds were sold out on March 6. The interest rates on them were 3 percent (for a two-year bond) and 3.3 percent (for a four-year bond). The yields from the bonds are exempt from taxes, levies or any fees. The minimum value of a bond was €1,000. ko/df