Tunisia will start a roadshow for a Eurobond worth 1 billion euros on February 5, and expects to go to capital markets twice more this year with bonds worth up to another 2 billion euros, a government source told Reuters on Thursday. The North African state's renewed entry into the financial markets comes as the government tries to enact much-needed economic reforms demanded by international lenders to help curb public spending after the economy was hit hard by Islamist militant attacks on its tourism industry in 2015.
Tunisia had announced in late November plans to issue a Eurobond worth 1 billion euros as it seeks funding to cover its budget deficit. The government source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media, said the first Eurobond would be priced on February 15 with a rate of 5-6 percent. "We are very likely to go to the markets twice again this year to issue more bonds worth 2 billion euros. But we have not decided whether they will be denominated in dollars or euros," the government source said.