Ireland will raise up to €1 billion in a bond auction next week, the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) said today.
The sale of a 4.6 per cent 2016 bond and a 4.5 per cent 2020 bond on March 16th is expected to raise between €1 billion and €1.5 billion.
"At its last monthly competitive auction in February, the NTMA raised €1.5bn, hitting the top of its target range at lower yields than in recent auctions in a sign that investors favoured Ireland's debt over other weaker Euroland states," said Bloxham's chief economist Alan McQuaid.
"Purely on a funding perspective alone, Ireland is in better shape than the other 'peripheral' euro zone bond markets and we expect that to be reflected in strong investor appetite for this latest debt offering."
Last week, the head of the NTMA John Corrigan said Ireland may issue bonds worth more than the €20 billion so far scheduled for this year, but should avoid the temptation to seek too much capital for its banks.
Ireland only has about €1 billion in bonds maturing this year and has won praise from markets for its efforts to cut its budget deficit.
In an interview, the chief executive of the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) said he wanted to prepare funding for debt worth up to €6 billion due in 2011. "If the opportunity arises to do more than the €20 billion on good terms, we may issue a little bit more to carry something into next year," Mr Corrigan said.
Mr Corrigan said he was considering the possibility of a 30-year bond, which would be arranged through syndication, on top of the remaining scheduled auctions running until November.
Additional reporting - agencies