LONDON (MNI) – Slovakia is planning to issue at least three new
bonds in 2012, which will include a new 3-year, 10-year and a 5-year
plus maturity bond, depending on market conditions, Ardal, the country’s
Debt and Liquidity Management Agency, said on Friday.

“Another bond line can be opened if required by investors,” Ardal
said, adding that auctions will be held on a monthly basis in 2012.

“At the same auction date in line with the demand of investors,
more bonds with different maturities can be auctioned,” the agency said.
“It means that in order to be more flexible almost all auctions will be
‘for decision.'”

Under Slovak law there is a maximum size that is issued for each
bond, under auction terms and conditions. The maximum size for the
3-year bond issue is E1.5 billion; for the 10-year bond it is E3.0
billion, and for the 5-year plus bond it is between E1.5 billion and
E3.0 billion.

The first bond auction is scheduled to be held on Jan 23 and will
be for the SLOVGB217 zero coupon bond, with a maturity of Apr 2014.

In addition, Ardal will sell two new T-Bill issues in 2012, which
will include a maturity of 1-year. “The first one will be issued on Jan
18, 2012 and the second one on July 11, 2012″, each for E2 billion, the
debt agency said.

“In case of requirements and on demand of the market, also T-Bills
with shorter maturity (3 months and 6 months) will be issued throughout
the year,” Ardal added. Following the first issuance of T-bills in 2012,
“the next auctions will follow on the basis of investors’ requirements,”
it said.

Daniel Bytcanek, the director of Ardal, had told Market News
International in November that the funding plan for 2012 was revised
upward to E7.9 billion from E7.2 billion, largely because the deficit is
higher than planned and the economy is expected to be weaker. The
Slovakian finance ministry recently announced that the budget deficit
target has been raised to between 4.0% and 4.6% of GDP from 3.8%, he
noted.

“Our general intention is to launch at least two new benchmarks
issued through the syndication process, with one launched in the spring
and the other in the autumn,” Bytcanek explained.

“This is the general framework, and the hope is that one of the two
new syndications will be a benchmark,” he added. “But everything depends
on the general environment in the European bond market.”

The Bratislava-based agency has sold E4.5 billion in bonds this
year, including new five- and 10-year syndicated issues, and E480
million in T-bills. This compares to a revised funding target of E7.0 to
E7.5 billion.

— London newsroom: 00 44 20 7862 7494; email: nshamim@marketnews.com

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