Talk to any Romanian banker about the country's
international debt, and the Wrst thing you will hear is that
Romania has never defaulted. As Cristian Popa, National Bank of
Romania's deputy governor says: "We have paid everything and on
time. And we make a principle of saying that time and again." It's
being repeated even more often these days, since rumours began
circulating in March that Romania is planning to tap the market
within the next few weeks with its longest-dated Eurobond deal yet
- possibly between seven and 10 years. Those touted as having a
good chance of winning the mandate include Salomon Smith Barney, JP
Morgan Chase, and ING Barings.
London-based investment bankers have been paying a lot of visits
to Romania in recent weeks while remaining reluctant to discuss the
deal.
A lot has changed in a year. Early in 2000, it was very diYcult
for...
