Washington, DC, December 8, 2003 - The World Bank launched another Hungarian Forint (HUF) bond. The bond responds primarily to demand from retail investors in Europe, and the total amount is HUF 14 billion. TD Securities lead managed the bonds, with Deutsche Bank and ING Barings as co-lead managers and Banque et Caisse d'Epargne de l'Etat Luxembourg, Bayerische Landesbank Girozentrale, DZ Bank AG Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank, KBC Bank NV and UniCredit Banca Mobiliare as co-managers.
"Demand for these Hungarian Forint bonds came from retail investors in Europe - especially in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and in the Benelux countries. Investors are looking for AAA issuers in currencies that offer a yield pick-up relative to the Euro, and consider the exchange rate of Hungarian Forint to be at attractive levels" said Hynd Bouhia, Senior Financial Officer in the Capital Markets group at the World Bank.
Settlement date: December 15, 2003
Maturity Date: August 15, 2005
Issue price: 99.825%
Coupon: 10% (paid annually, with a short first coupon on August 15, 2004)
Denomination: HUF 1,000,000
Form of Notes: Bearer
Listing: Luxembourg
Clearing systems: Euroclear or Clearstream
ISIN Code: XS0182271691
The bonds will also be traded on the 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.
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).
