THE Government has successfully issued a US$400-million Eurobond to the international capital market which will carry an interest rate that is 3.8 percentage points lower than a note of the same size that will be repaid in May.

In a press release yesterday, the Ministry of Finance said that the offer — managed by Deutsche Bank Securities Inc and BNP Paribas Securities Inc — was more than two times oversubscribed “with more than US$1 billion in orders from several institutional accounts in the US and Europe, as well as some investors from the Latin American and Caribbean region”.

“Notwithstanding a tightening in the international market, I am very pleased that we were able to meet my original objective of staying within a seven to eight per cent band,” said Finance Minister Audley Shaw . “It is an unmistakable endorsement in the direction Jamaica is taking, and I intend to press ahead with scheduled reforms to build further business confidence.”

The bond that carries a yield of 7.95 per cent, will be consolidated with the US$350-million, eight per cent note originally issued on June 24, 2008 and which matures in 2019.

“Principal payments will be made in three equal annual instalments on June 24, 2017, June 24, 2018 and June 24, 2019,” said the final term sheet.