Washington, DC, January 3, 2002 – The World Bank launched a Hungarian Forint bond today. The 18-month 10 billion Hungarian Forint (HUF) issue offers investors an annual interest coupon of 7.75% and matures on July 18, 2003.
Toronto Dominion lead managed the bonds that were widely syndicated throughout Europe, reflecting investor demand. Other syndicate members were: Caboto Gruppo Intesa BCI, Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Bank, Erste Bank, ING Barings, Morgan Stanley, RZB, DZ Bank AG, Unicredito Banca Mobiliare, and WestLB.
Settlement date for the bonds is January 17, 2002 and the bonds mature on July 18, 2003. The issue price was 100.78%. The issue will be listed in Luxembourg and bonds will be available in denominations of HUF 100,000 and multiples thereof. The issue will be traded on Toronto Dominion Securities Auto Execution Electronic system (TDAX on Bloomberg), so that banks and brokers will be able to buy the securities electronically over that system.
"This is our second bond denominated in Hungarian Forint. We issued the first one about six months ago, after the Government of Hungary announced convertibility of the currency. Investors are continuing to look for bonds denominated in select Eastern European currencies issued by high grade issuers. We were pleased to be able to offer investors these bonds in Hungarian Forint", said Laura Burakreis-Madejski, Senior Capital Markets Officer at the World Bank.
The World Bank is a market leader in bond issuance in emerging market currencies and over the years has offered investors World Bank debt in 39 currencies, including Chilean Peso, Czech Koruna, Greek Drachma, Mexican Peso, Polish Zloty, Slovak Koruna, and South African Rand.
The World Bank's bond products and investor presentation can be accessed through the website of the World Bank for bond investors (www.worldbank.org/debtsecurities).
