Tunisia issues $500 million Eurobond with USAID guarantee

Tunisia has issued a $500 million Eurobond guaranteed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to plug part of its budget deficit and finance development projects.

The announcement was made by Tunisia’s Central Bank in a statement that was made public on August 4.

According to the press release, the rate of interest for the issuance of the bond was set at 1.416%.

It also said that the order book of a five-year maturity date relating to the bond has already obtained more than $3 billion.

This is the fifth time that Tunisia has sourced for funds from the international debt market since the fall of former president Ben Ali in January 2011.

Meanwhile, media sources indicate that Ghana has said it will not go ahead with its planned $500 million Eurobond issue.

And while the government gave no reason for the decision, investors said it had likely balked at the higher yields fund managers had demanded of the junk-rated credit.