Investor demand for central and eastern European sovereign risk is strengthening, allowing governments across the region to access the international bond markets again. The Slovak Republic continued a positive trend in May when it attracted €2.8 billion-worth of orders for a €2 billion six-year deal.
Slovakia followed the Czech Republic to market; that deal attracted a strong bid for a €1.5 billion five-year issue in May.
Also last month, Croatia issued its first Eurobond in five years, for €750 million, via BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and UniCredit. As a result of increased investor demand, Croatia’s credit default swap spread has tightened sharply from almost 600bp over in March to about 200bp over.
And there might be more transactions to come, with both Hungary and Romania said to be considering issuance if spreads continue to tighten.