Citigroup Inc, one of the largest US corporate borrowers, plans to sell up to $28 billion of long-term bonds in 2004, Treasurer Guy Whittaker said.
Whittaker said the world's largest financial services company, which is based in New York, plans to raise $18 billion to $21 billion from bond sales, half in currencies other than the US dollar, while its Citigroup Global Markets Holdings unit plans to raise $7 billion. A majority of the new bonds will replace existing debt, he said.
Citigroup in 2003 sold $22.8 billion of long-term bonds, while Citigroup Global Markets sold $8.5 billion.
"We continue to find new markets and new opportunities and new interests," Whittaker said in a presentation monitored by Webcast. "At the high end (of) investment-grade, we feel this will remain a constructive environment" for issuance, even as prices on some higher-risk bonds "look a little bit stretched," he said.
Moody's Investors Service rates Citigroup's senior debt "Aa1," its second highest grade. Standard & Poor's rates it "AA-minus," two notches lower.
Investment-grade corporate debt issuance totalled $1.74 trillion world-wide and $659 billion in the United States, research firm Thomson Financial said. Citigroup is also the largest underwriter in both categories, Thomson said.
Earlier in the presentation, Chief Operating Officer Robert Willumstad said Citigroup, in a strategy shift, plans this year to make "sizeable investments" to expand its existing businesses, while still pursuing acquisition opportunities, especially outside the United States.
About $14 billion of Citigroup bonds and $8.4 billion of Citigroup Global Markets bonds will mature this year.