ATHENS, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Greece successfully expanded its 10-year bond issue of March on Tuesday, drawing another 1.5 billion euros (1.65 billion U.S. dollars) at the historically low coupon of 1.54 percent, in its fourth foray in the money markets within 2019.
The reopened issue, maturing in March 2029, drew offers in excess of 5.4 billion euros within the three hours the book remained open, the state news agency AMNA reported.
Speaking on state broadcaster ERT after the opening of the offers book, Finance Minister Christos Staikouras stated that the government's objective was to complete the issue "with decent diversification among investors and a low cost of borrowing."
He added that the coupon guidance rate at the beginning of the process stood at 1.55 percent.
On March 12, Greece drew 2.5 billion euros at an interest of 3.9 percent when it issued its first benchmark 10-year paper after the conclusion of its bailout programs in August 2018.
Greece's Public Debt Management Agency had already covered its scheduled takings from the markets for 2019, amounting to 7 billion euros, as the issues of a five-year, a seven-year and a 10-year bond earlier this year already added up to 7.5 billion euros. (1 euro = 1.10 U.S. dollars)
