BRUSSELS: Belgium launched its third syndicated euro-government bond this year, raising 4 billion euros ($4.47 billion) amid solid demand, said one of the banks involved in the transaction.
Order books for the new June 2038-dated government bond were in excess of EUR7.5 billion. The bond, which carries a coupon of 1.90%, was priced at 99.382 to yield at 1.934%, a slightly lower level than that indicated by initial price talk.
The EUR4 billion issue size was slightly higher than a pre-sale estimate of EUR3 billion to EUR3.5 billion, according to fixed income analysts.
The new bond fills a gap in the Belgian yield curve, which until now had no issues between 2035 and 2041.
Belgium launched a new 10-year government bond via syndication in January and a 16-year bond in February. Bonds launched via a syndicate of banks later are reopened at auctions.
Banks mandated for the transaction were HSBC, Morgan Stanley, RBS and Societe Generale CIB, as joint bookrunners.
