Reuters: Bulgaria Chooses Four Banks to Organise 2016 Global Bond Issues

Bulgaria's Finance Ministry has chosen four banks as lead managers of a bond sale of up to BGN 3.9 B (EUR 2 B) on global markets in 2016, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing an inside source.

Another source has told the newswire that Citi and JP Morgan Chase were two of the chosen lead managers, and the other two were European banks.

The finance ministry has declined to comment but confirmed in a statement to Reuters that it had undertaken "measures to secure the possibility to raise debt under the mid-term debt programme, including selection of lead managers and update of the necessary documents."

Bulgaria will be able to borrow up to BGN 5.3 B in fresh debt this year to finance budget deficit, repay old debt and support recovery and restructuring programmes in the banking sector, if needed, according to the 2016 budget bill adopted in December. 

Bulgaria's government debt totalled EUR 11.61 B at the end of 2015, increasing from EUR 11.30 B at the end of the previous year, the Finance Ministry announced last month. Debt-to-GDP ratio was 26.4% as of 31 December 2015, unchanged from the end of 2014. Domestic debt-to-GDP ratio decreased to 8.5%, compared with 9.9% at the end of 2014, while foreign debt-to-GDP ratio increased to 17.9% from 16.5%.

Bulgaria closed last year with a consolidated budget deficit of BGN 2.47 B, equivalent to 2.9% of the projected Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The budget deficit for 2016 has been projected at 1.8 BGN equivalent to 2% of the forecast GDP.