Washington, DC, January 3, 2002 – The World Bank issued the first USD global bond of the new year. The $3 billion 3-year global bond provides investors with a triple-A rated, liquid and current coupon product.
The bonds have a coupon of 4% and a final maturity of January 10, 2005. They were priced at a spread of 93 basis points over the yield of the 3.25% US Treasury due December 2003, providing investors with a yield of over 4% on a semi-annual basis. The bonds settle on January 10, 2002, and the ISIN code is US 459056QM23.
The transaction was joint lead-managed by Goldman Sachs, Salomon Smith Barney, and UBS Warburg which took 85% of the bonds. The balance was syndicated to Daiwa and Nomura (senior co-lead managers), and to the following co-managers: Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Bank, HSBC, JP Morgan, Mizuho Securities, Morgan Stanley, Sanwa, and Tokyo-Mitsubishi.
50% percent of the issue was placed with accounts in Asia, 30% in North America, and 20% in Europe and the Middle East. The distribution among investor types was as follows: 60% central banks and government entities; 25% fund managers; 10% banks, 5% others (pension funds, insurance companies, and corporates).
"With substantial USD redemptions in January, investors have a significant amount of cash to put to work. The World Bank's transaction caters to this flow, and to investors looking for "safe-haven" securities." said C.K. Teng, Lead Specialist for Capital Markets at the World Bank.
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).
