The Legislature approved with 84 votes a government issuance of bonds for $800 million in order to pay for Eurobonds acquired in 2003.
A press release of the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador reads:
With the votes of 84 MPs from all parliamentary groups, the full Legislature authorized the Executive Branch in the field of Finance, to issue securities for eight hundred million dollars, in order to meet the demand for early redemption of the El Salvador’s Eurobond issue, maturing in 2023.
The Salvadoran government placed $ 653 million in bonds in the international market on January 25 .
The acquisition was announced at 9:30 am local time (10:30 New York time) and three hours later, demand had reached $ 1,628.9 million, more than double the amount offered by El Salvador, reflecting the strong international interest in acquiring the Salvadorans bonds.
Seven investment banks are competing to underwrite next month's issue.
BCR, the central bank of El Salvador, will announce the underwriter next month, while the bonds sale will begin in the second half of October.
Carlos Acevedo, president of BCR, commented: "There is high demand for Salvadoran debt. Investors are eager to purchase bonds from El Salvador; this is good news and a positive signal".