YEREVAN, March 21. /ARKA/. Regional instability may affect the profitability of future Armenian Eurobonds, the head of the Central Bank Martin Galstyan told at a meeting of the parliamentary commitee on fiscal policy today.
“If Armenia issues now Eurobonds, the profitability will be more than 8%, because if the risk premium was usually 3%, now it is higher than 6%,” Galstyan said, explaining it by regional uncertainty.
“Investors are demanding compensation of 6% for continued investment in this region instead of 3%. Nobody could have foreseen that this would happen,” he said.
On February 4, 2021, Armenia successfully placed another issue of $750 million USD-denominated Eurobonds with a maturity of 10 years and a coupon yield of 3.6%. The placement yield was 3.875%, and the demand exceeded $3 billion.
In April 2020, then Finance Minister Atom Janjughazyan said the government was considering the possibility of a new issue of Eurobonds, possibly even in drams.
Armenia first issued $700 million worth dollar-denominated bonds in September 2013 at the yield of 6.25 percent. The bulk was used to repay a $500 million Russian loan ten years ahead of schedule.
Armenia sold a second issue of $500 million 10-year dollar bond on March 19, 2014 paying a yield of 7.5%.
Deutsche Bank, HSBC Bank and JP Morgan acted as underwriters. Of that amount, about $205.8 million was spent to buy back part of the previous dollar bond issue carried out in 2013.-0-
