The World Bank has arranged the sale, entirely outside the United States, of a $100 million issue of United States dollar bands. The sale, at par., was made by private placement with central banks and other governmental institutions for 43 countries and with one international organization.
The new bonds known as the “Two Year Bonds of 1967, due September 15, 1969, “bear interest at 5-3/4%, payable semi-annually, with the first payment due March 15, 1968. The issue is to be dated September 15, 1967.
The countries to which the new bonds were sold are:
Argentina Iran Spain
Australia Israel Sudan
Austria Italy Tanzania
Belgium Ivory Coast Thailand
Bolivia Japan Togo
China Jordan Upper Volta
Cyprus Kenya Yugoslavia
Dahomey Kuwait Zambia
Denmark Malaysia
El Salvador Mauritania
Ethiopia Netherlands
Finland Niger
France Norway
Germany Palestine
Greece Saudi Arabia
Iceland Senegal
India Singapore
Iran South Africa
The sale of the current bond issue does not affect the total of the Bank's outstanding funded debt, as an equal amount of 4-3/8% Two Year Bonds placed outside the United States in September 1965, matures in Sept 15, 1967. The total outstanding obligations of the Bank amount to about $3.2 billion of which more than $2.4 billion is denominated in United States dollar and about $770 million in Belgian francs, Canadian dollars, Deutsche mark, Italian lire, Netherlands guilders, Pounds sterling and Swiss francs.
More than 55% of the Bank’s outstanding debt is held by investors outside the United States. Included in these holdings, in addition to non-dollar obligations, are about $1 billion of the dollar bonds and notes of the Bank, or some 42% of its total United States dollar obligations.