The World Bank has arranged the sale, entirely outside the United States, of a $100 million issue of United States dollar bonds. The sale was made by private placement with 62 institutional investors in 34 countries and indicates a further broadening of the international market for World Bank bonds.
The new bonds will be known as the "Two Year Bonds of 1959", and will carry interest of 4-3/4%, payable semi-annually, with the first payment due on March 15, 1960. The issue is dated September 15, 1959 and matures September 15, 1961.
Keen interest was shown in the new issue and total subscriptions received were more than double the principal amount of bonds to be sold. Requests for bonds were received from institutions that had not previously bought Bank obligations and from buyers in eight countries where Bank issues had not been held before. Purchasers included central banks, government special accounts, and privately owned commercial banks, insurance companies and corporations.
The countries where buyers purchased the new bonds are:
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Burma
Canada
Colombia
Denmark
Ecuador
El Salvador
Ethiopia
Finland
France
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Iceland
India
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Italy
Japan
Luxembourg
Malaya
Mexico
Netherlands
Norway
Sweden
Switzerland
Thailand
Union of South Africa
United K1dgdom
Viet-Nam
Yugoslavia
On completion of the current transaction and after allowing for retirement of $50 million of Five-Year 21/2% Bonds placed abroad in September 1954, the total outstanding obligations of the World Bank will amount to about $1,950,000,000, of which about $1,640,000,000 is denominated in United states dollars and some $310 million in Belgian francs, Canadian dollars, Deutsche Marks, Netherlands guilders, sterling and Swiss francs.
About half of the Bank's outstanding debt is held by investors outside the United States. Included in the holdings of these investors, in addition to non-dollar obligations, are some $650 million of the dollar bonds and notes of the Bank, or about 40 of its total U.S. dollar obligations.
