Thursday, April 8, 2010

Albania Approves Eurobond Sale

Tirana
Tirana
The Albanian government approved on Wednesday the sale of €300 million in Eurobonds.

Speaking during a meeting of the Council of Ministers, Prime Minister Sali Berisha described the Eurobond issuance as an important step.

“This is testimony of an important financial development for the country,” Berisha said.

This is Albania’s second attempt to emit Eurobonds after an effort in early 2009 was abandoned due to the global financial crisis, forcing the Ministry of Finance to opt for a costly syndicated loan.

The Ministry selected two international banks in March 2009 from which it borrowed €250 million.

“We intend to refinance this loan in the next few years, after the global turmoil calms,” Ridvan Bode, Albania’s minister of finance, said at the time.

The loan was intended to finance the Rreshen-Kalimash highway which links Albania with Kosovo, a project with a price tag of €1 billion which was marred by allegations of corruption.

No comments: