Issuer: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Amount: $50 million floating-rate note
Launched: 13 March 1997
Lead manager: Citibank & ING Barings
What makes a deal successful? For Sri Lanka it might simply be that one was possible. Think of the country, and you think of the Tamil Tigers and the war they have been waging against the government for the last 15 years. Sri Lanka's last issue was in 1982, you would hardly expect it to tap the international capital markets now it doesn't even have a rating. But in mid-March, Citibank, which initially won sole mandate, and ING Barings acted as joint book runners for a $50 million floating-rate note (FRN).
And the deal achieved a good price. At a spread over three-month Libor of 150 basis points at par, the government got a price equivalent to a good BB/BB+ rated issuer. This also compares favourably with the...
