The World Bank has arranged the sale, entirely outside the United States, of a $100 million issue or United States dollar bonds. The sale, at par, was made by private placement with central banks and other governmental institutions in 29 countries.
The new bonds will be known as the "Two-Year Bonds of 1963”, and will bear interest of 4%, payable semi-annually, with the first payment due March 15, 1964.
The issue is dated September 15, 1963 and matures September 15, 1965.
The countries where the new bonds were sold are:
Argentina
Australia.
Austria
Cambodia
China
Denmark
El Salvador
Finland
France
Germany
Ghana
Iceland
India
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Japan
Kuwait
Malaya
Mexico
Nigeria
Norway
Saudi Arabia
South Africa
Spain
Switzerland
Thailand
Viet Nam
Yugoslavia
Completion of the current transaction will not affect the total of the Bank´s outstanding funded debt, as an equal amount of Two-Year 4% Bonds, placed outside the United States in September 1961, will mature on September 15, 1963. The total outstanding obligations of the Bank amount to about $2.5 billion of which about $109 billion is denominated in United States dollars and nearly $620 million in Belgian francs, Canadian dollars, Deutsche marks, Italian lire, Netherlands guilders, sterling and Swiss francs.
Over 55% 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 more than $800 million of the dollar bonds and notes of the Bank, or about 43% of its total United States dollar obligations.
