Up to 1bn euros from eurobonds

Romania could borrow up to 1 billion euros in the 1st quarter of next year, through a ten-year eurobond issue, which will be managed by three investment banks – Eurobank EFG, UBS Bank and Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), according to a Government decision. The money attracted from the international capital market is to be used to refinance the 600 million-euro bond issue launched in 2001, falling due next year, and as additional financing for the 2008 budget deficit, which is set to account for 2.7% of the GDP. EFG Eurobank, the majority shareholder of Bancpost, has for the first time secured such an important advising job in Romania. As for CSFB, it continues the series of contracts with the state, after becoming an adviser for the last stage of Romtelecom’s privatisation and has been involved in a scandal where company representatives are accused of securing confidential information from government officials and using it in auctions and privatisations organised by the former ministers of economy and of communications. UBS had tried to enter the Romanian market on several occasions, but has only now managed to secure a first major contract. The Swiss investment bank stood out through its pessimistic outlook on Romania’s macroeconomic imbalances, forecasting an abrupt slowdown in the economic growth of 2008, which struck a discordant note with opinions voiced by most foreign analysts.